


Patchwork

by CorranBlue



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clones Being Good Brothers, Cody is everyone's ori'vod, Description of a panic attack in ch 2, Endgame Codywan, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Happy Ending, No One Can Cook, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, Planet Kashyyyk (Star Wars), Post-Order 66, Tagging as I go, aroace rex, nonbinary Jesse, other characters that aren’t tagged, ration bars are gross but they are better than kitchen fires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorranBlue/pseuds/CorranBlue
Summary: After Order 66 Ahsoka cuts herself off from the Force in the wake of so much pain, Rex obsessively searches for Cody, and Jesse is learning how to live in a mind that has been invaded twice now. A few years into their exile, Ahsoka is contacted by one of her connections with news that can alter the course of their search and the galaxy at large.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & CT-5597 Jesse, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & CT-7567 | Rex
Comments: 89
Kudos: 212





	1. The End is the Beginning (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I am super excited to tackle this! I can't wait to share everything I have planned out :)

"Kriff!” Rex swore, pausing in his excavations as he saw a familiar helmet. “Jesse, hold on, I’m coming!”

The silence ate away at his mind, bringing fresh fear into him. It was one thing to go into this knowing none of the  _ vode  _ would have been likely to survive, it was a completely different thing to see his  _ vod _ , his  _ Jesse _ , lying on the ground, trapped by so much durasteel. He had already failed his brothers before, he couldn’t-

“Rex, Rex you need to breathe,” He felt a hand on his shoulder, resting between the plastoid plates. “We have to stay calm.”

“Ahsoka, it’s Jesse-”

“I know, and I think,” She paused and gave the look he had come to realize as Ahsoka noticing she couldn’t do something she used to do. “I think he might be alive.”

Rex stared down at the familiar painted helmet in dismay. Their time limit was ticking away. Any hour now troops would find them. And minute now they could be under attack again. He didn’t much like their chances against a destroyer, not with their dingy ship. 

“We have to get him out, we have to try.” His voice broke on the last word, and Rex hated how his hands shook, how they never stopped shaking these days. He closed his eyes, wishing things were different. Wishing he had ignored the holo call, wishing Ahsoka hadn’t cut herself off from the Force. Hell, wishing he had listened to Fives, really believed him. 

“Rex,” Ahsoka’s voice was soothing, a cool cloth on a fevered forehead. He realized she hadn’t yet moved her hand. He stood up and rolled his shoulders, trying to focus on getting his brother out. 

“The question is, how do we get him out without hurting him more?” Rex analyzed the towers of broken metal surrounding them like vultures. “All these sharp edges are just waiting for a reason to impale something.”

“We have to find something we can use to keep whatever falls from hitting him, I think I have just the thing,” She leapt away from Rex to one of the ships under repair. “If I can modify a cruiser’s protective shields to a much smaller size...I might just be able to-” The words cut off as she dipped into the ship. As he listened to the rummaging around, Rex bent down towards Jesse. 

“Brother, if you’re in there, I won’t leave you.” He surveyed the area again. The huge sheet lying on top of him would need to be leveraged away without being pushed into him, he’d need a beam of some sort. 

By the time Ahsoka was satisfied with her shield generator, Rex had set up the rest of the things they would need. Ahsoka powered up the device, and after a few hair-raising moments they managed to drag Jesse’s body free from the wreckage. 

Rex could only stand breathlessly as Ahsoka pulled off his helmet to check for a pulse. She looked up and nodded, and Rex could move again. Together they carried him over to their impromptu medical station, already thinking about the next step. 

“Now I’m no medic, but looks like his left arm is broken, or fractured at least,” Rex examined as much as he could without removing the armour. “And then of course, there’s the…”

“We need to make sure he comes out of the surgery okay, we’ll have to tend his other wounds first,” Ahsoka looked just as wary as he felt as she reached into the bin of bacta patches. “I say we patch him up and then...hope the Force guides us.”

“Could really use Kix right about now. I think I remember him telling us not to remove armour until we’re on the ship, something about providing support for hidden injuries?” His wry smile didn’t take away any of the pain lacing his heart. Of course, Rex missed all his fallen brothers, but Kix was special. And he never would have given up on Jesse. 

The two moved as fast as they could, their bodies reacting slower after days of locating and burying all the  _ vode  _ they could find. So far, Jesse was the only survivor. Other than Rex. 

Once they had done all they could, every visible injury covered in bacta, they stepped back and looked at each other, faces tight and brows pulled together. A string of high pitched beeps and whistles cut through their apprehension as R4-H1 raced towards them, spewing snow and ice behind him. 

“Of course we didn’t start without you, how would we program the system?” Ahsoka sadly smiled down at the little droid. “Speaking of, Rahi, can you boot it up? I don’t think we can afford to wait much longer. Someone is going to come looking soon.” She startled and looked at Rex as R4 hooked up to the luckily salvaged machine. 

“Rex, I know we didn’t find everyone, I don’t want to leave them behind, but-”

“I get it, kid. I-” His voice broke again, so he took a deep breath before continuing on. “We need to be lightyears away before they come looking for us.”

Ahsoka walked over and grabbed his still-shaking fists. Looking in her eyes, all he could see was the fear on her face, the fear of  _ him _ as he pulled his weapons on her. 

Rex closed his eyes and tried to do that breathing exercise Cody was always trying to get him to do. Some Jedi thing he had learned from Kenobi, no doubt. Rex blinked his eyes open when he felt his  _ vod’ika _ pull away. She had moved to stand by Jesse, her hands already inspecting the bandage on his skull. Had it been so long already?

He joined her and looked down at his  _ vod  _ stiffly. It felt like a lifetime before he opened his eyes, before he realized where he was, and the reality of their situation sunk in. 

“Commander!” Jesse tried to pull away, but he was too weak from the, well, the everything that had happened the past two days to get far. “Commander, I’m-”

“Don’t you dare apologize, Jesse. That wasn’t you,” Rex offered a sympathetic glance to his brother on the table. “Now, how are you feeling? Do you think you can walk?”

“Y-yeah, commander, I can walk.”

Rex met Ahsoka’s eyes, and they came to the same realization. 

“We have to go now. There’s no way anyone else survived for this long.”

Jesse grabbed Rex’s offered arm and stood on wobbly legs. Rex brought a shoulder up under Jesse’s arm to support his weight. He turned them to look at the long row of helmets sitting on pikes, and could feel Jesse sag. 

“Rex,” He closed his eyes and paused. Figuring he’d want his helmet, Rex gestured toward it, hoping Ahsoka would get the message. She did. She plucked it off the ground and gently bumped it against the worn out troopers chest plate. 

Jesse opened his eyes and looked down for a long moment before steeling himself. 

“Commander, captain, I’d like it to remain here, with our brothers,” He exchanged a look with Rex. “That helmet isn’t me, not anymore.”

Eyes brimming with tears, Rex watched as Ahsoka ran out to the line and added Jesse’s bucket to the others. Now the collection was complete. 

Rex blinked as Ahsoka did something unexpected: she dropped one of her sabers. She braced her shoulders, and started heading back to them. Rex flashed her what he hoped was a supportive smile.

Rahi bumped his legs and let out a coon.

“I’m okay, little buddy. Now let’s get back to the ship,” The motley crew slowly crept toward the waiting modified freighter, the air as heavy as the Naboo jungles between them. 

Rahi sped ahead of them to start the engines while they climbed the ramp. The three gave one last look over the tragic scene ahead of them.

“We, we buried as many of the  _ vode _ as we could,” Ahsoka spoke up, montrals twitching slightly to show her unease. Rex knew she wanted to do more, because he too wanted to do more. They kept watching as the ramp slowly shut, cutting them off. 

Little did they know this freighter would be their home for the next three years. 


	2. Wanderings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex has some quality thinking time about Cody. You know, the whole reason for this fic? Yeah and some sad things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! Finally! Well I hope you enjoy it. Once again I did no edits at all. This isn't all that important yet, but the ship they are on is named "Echoy'la" which is Mando'a for searching, mourning, lost. I thought that fit really well with the theme of their story.  
> CW for description of a panic attack, from ‘it’s over’ to ‘Cody, ni ceta’

Rex swallowed the rest of his ration bar as he walked up to the ship, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease minutely as he looked around the familiar space. This ship, their home, was the only place Rex could relax. It didn’t matter how long they had been on any one planet, Rex could never quite let his guard down. Except around his family. 

_ Echoy’la _ , emblazoned on the side, marked the name of their home. But more than that, it marked their purpose. They could not forget about the thousands of  _ vode _ enslaved by the new Empire. They could not forget about the ones they loved, forced to become nothing more than unthinking drones for the very thing they fought so hard against. They would not give up until they found a way to fight back against the Empire and free all their brothers. 

The lowered ramp beckoned him forward, inviting him home. Rex sighed and sat down at the dejarik table, idly noting that his and Jesse’s game sat abandoned. No matter, they’d have time enough for that later. 

As he sat there, he couldn’t help but think about the brother that should be with them. Well, there were many, all the  _ vode  _ should be free. But Rex’s closest brother most of all. After three years of searching, Rex still hadn’t been able to find out what happened to Cody. Cody,  _ Kote _ , CC-2224. His  _ ori’vod _ , his best friend. They had been connected to the Empire’s systems from the start, but no matter how hard they searched, they couldn’t find anything linking back to his brother. It was like he had been wiped from the system altogether. Someone wanted him erased. 

Rex could find numerous reports that he had filed over the course of the war, but not a single one from Cody. Which he knew was wrong, because who had done more paperwork than Cody? Aside from Fox, most of his brothers avoided forms like the plague. But Cody...as much as he complained, he wouldn’t give up his paperwork for the world. Not when he and General Kenobi would spend the after battle hours together working through the mounds of datapads. 

Cody had only confessed to him once, after downing several glasses of completely illegal brandy. 

“I love him Rex. My general, my CO.  _ Ner’jetii _ .” It was only the once, but Rex never forgot. How could he? The way his brothers eyes had shone at the mere thought of Kenobi, the way his voice echoed his complete adoration, the way his heart seemed to crack for his  _ vod _ . All of these were things he would remember later, alone in his bunk, late at night when he tried to sleep. 

The world had never been fair to any of them, but Cody had it particularly rough. He was the highest ranking clone in the entire GAR, working for the most decorated general of all the Jedi. He commanded the largest contingent of  _ vode _ , oftentimes by himself when Kenobi was off on one of his many solo missions. Despite all this, despite the honours given to him and the trust placed in him, he was also the loneliest of their number. All the power and duty given to him distanced him from his brothers. He wasn’t just a trooper, but he also wasn’t a nat-born officer. He was Marshal Commander Cody, in a division all by himself. 

Which was probably why Rex pushed him so much. Rex knew what loneliness felt like, growing up with a  _ defect _ on Kamino practically ostracized him. Cody was the one who pulled him out of his one man world. Cody was the one who pulled him into his batchmates with open arms. So to see Cody go through something that he worked so hard to fight against? It broke a piece of Rex’s heart. Cody was  _ ori’vod _ to the core. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his  _ vode’ike _ . 

And there was nothing Rex wouldn’t do for him. Not during the war, when Kenobi died that one time, or when he lost his entire squad in a rough battle. And not now, when he was still out there somewhere in the galaxy, forced to be a slave for the very thing they had once fought so hard against. 

No, Rex wouldn't abandon his brother. Not while there was blood in his veins and breath in his lungs. 

A noise startled Rex from intently scouring the files in his datapad (he had them all memorized, but maybe there was something he had missed...for the past three years). He looked up to see Jesse staring at him. They were looking tired, dark bags showing prominently under haunted gold eyes. 

“What’s for supper?” They grinned as they tossed out the old joke. “I’m starving.”

“There’s the ration bars, or the gruel. Caf, of course.” Rex stroked his chin in classic Kenobi style as he pretended to mull the options over. “We  _ might _ have some of that fruit Ahsoka found.”

“I could always cook something?” The  _ vode _ made eye contact for a few tense seconds before they burst out laughing. After the first two months of relative calm, not a single one of them had been able to cook without causing either major damage to the ship, or major damage to their intestines. The simulations hadn’t prepared them for anything past wilderness survival, and things they  _ could  _ eat to survive. And honestly, they all found it easier to just be able to grab something and get on with it. 

If Cody had been with them, he would never have let them live like this. Life with Kenobi, especially on leave with the man, drove Cody to develop his own specific tastes. Specifically when it came to teas. Rex’s general was more of the ‘chow down on whatever he could get his hands on’ type. And sometimes that was bugs. You got used to it after a while...

“Notice anything?” Jesse could probably see from his eyes and his datapad that he was thinking about Cody again. They were able to read him easily after living with him for so long. 

Rex shook his head and set down the datapad. Nothing new today. Nothing new yesterday. Nothing new in the past three years. Sometimes it felt like they would never learn anything, never find him. 

“Uh, Rex?” The uncertainty in their voice caused Rex to snap back to reality. “Take a look at this.”

“What? Oh,  _ kriff _ -” The files on their datapad were moving of their own accord. It looked like there was some sort of server maintenance going on, but, was that? “Are they deleting everything?” Jesse was already running off to his quarters presumably to grab his larger pad. Rex heard shuffling, a few thumps, and then a focused silence. 

Rex numbly stumbled out of his chair and raced towards Jesse.

“They’re pulling things faster than I can see them, I can’t” They let out a strangled yell and smacked their pad. “No! I can’t stop this, it’s too big, it’s systemwide-oh  _ kriff _ .” Their panic reached a crescendo before flatlining. They looked up at Rex with panic seeping out of their eyes. 

“What? What’s going on?” Rex didn’t know who he was pleading with, but he sent out a wordless prayer to whoever was listening to him in that moment. 

“Rex,  _ vod _ , they cut us out.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, we can’t access their servers anymore. Our backdoor is gone.” They went back to tapping. “And, Rex, it looked like they were getting rid of everything from the war. We, it’s over.”

“No. No! It can’t be, we can still do this. If we can get to a communications tower, we can get in from there. I’m not-we can’t give up on him-” Rex wasn’t sure when the tight fear in his chest morphed into something more. But he couldn’t breath. 

The world swam around him, and he felt himself tilting.  _ Cody, Cody!  _ His mind was racing a thousand words per second, but nothing was making sense. His hands were shaking, tears cascaded down his face. 

“I can’t-we have to-” Rex was choking on air. This couldn’t be happening. This wasn’t-

“Hey, Rex, you’re having a panic attack, we need to calm you down.” Gentle hands grabbed his hands and he thought he could see Jesse in front of him. “Remember what we talked about? Slow your breathing. Come on, with me now. In...out…”

They guided him back into himself. Slowly his frantic puffs of air lengthened into hiccups, and the hiccups into controlled breathes once more. He felt light-headed and weak, but stable. 

“ _ Vor’e _ .” He managed before he fell into Jesse’s arms. Jesse guided him to the bunk and laid him down. Distantly he felt his shoes being taken off, his belt being removed. As he sunk down into sleep, one thought pushed its way to the front of his mind. 

_ Cody, ni ceta. I failed you. _

___

When Rex awoke, he noticed the faint thrumming of hyperspace around him. The others must have been told about…

He rubbed at his grainy eyes and swung his feet off the bunk. Might as well face them sooner rather than later. 

He quickly tidied his appearance, and although he saw his face was a disaster he felt more steady having dealt with what he could. He left Jesse’s room behind and made his way back to the common space. The humming of the engines soothed his frayed soul. Hyperspace meant safety. Even if that safety was brief. 

He met Rahi in the kitchen. 

“Hey bud.” Rex leaned down and patted the square top of the droid. “You heard the news?”

A long and sad whistle answered him. “Well, suppose it had to happen sometime.”

There was a short pause before the droid responded. He sounded hesitant and sad. 

“Rahi, there’s nothing you could have done. Don’t forget, we aren’t on a Destroyer anymore. You can’t just plug into a terminal and get what we need.” Another mournful wail. “It’s okay. We’re happy to have you. Just because you can’t do what you used to be able to do doesn’t mean you aren’t a valuable member of this crew.”

He looked up when he heard murmurs from the cockpit. “Guess I better go check in. Tell me  _ H’ika _ , what should I be expecting?” The droid gave him a  _ very  _ pessimistic summary of their moods. Rex chuckled as he walked away. Still, he had to brace himself before entering. He knew they were worried, but...he wasn’t ready to think about this yet. He wasn’t ready to give up his hope. 

“So, where are we headed?” Jesse and Ahsoka turned to face him in their respective chairs. Piloting seemed to agree with his not-so-little-anymore sister. “Tithe? Chandu? Maybe one of the moons somewhere?”

The two looked at each other before looking back to Rex. 

“We’re going to Kashyyyk.” Jesse was watching him with tender eyes, as if they were worried he would collapse again. “But Rex, we need to talk about-”

“I think I have a lead.” Ahsoka cut them off with a frustrated glance. Clearly there had been an argument while he was out. “I was meeting with an informant while you two were back here. And before you ask why I didn’t tell you, it’s because I couldn’t give you false hope.”

This felt like getting punched in the face by Fox. His brother might not have the extreme muscle of his batchmates, but he lashed out with all the force of his spite. He and Rex held their muscle in their legs, but that’s  _ not what he’s supposed to be thinking about now,  _ brain. 

“The Wookie homeworld?” Rex fought to keep his attention focused on Ahsoka, blatantly ignoring the pleading looks from Jesse. They couldn’t force him to confront his feelings. Not while they might be completely unfounded anyways. 

“Yes. I have some old friends who might be able to get me in touch with another old...acquaintance.” That was less reassuring but Rex would take it.

“How much longer in hyperspace?” 

“Well…”They all looked out the window as the lines became dots once again. “We’re here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited to have picked this up again! I'm planning to do much more regular updates...even though I'm taking a full course load of summer classes! Let me know what you think, if you want! I'm also on tumblr with the same name.


	3. Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew makes it to Kashyyyk!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I know I said I was planning to do a much more regular update schedule, and then dropped off for three months, so I'm not going to promise that again! But I can say, this will be finished. Thanks for not giving up on me! <3

“Hold on, isn’t there a blockade? Cutting off all atmo entry and exit?” Rex felt frantic as he raced to the holotable. 

“Turns out most of our old backdoors are still working, when they purged the files they neglected to do a password re-haul. Once I hit this button and activate our code, they won’t see a thing on their scanners,” Ahsoka paused, and in true Skywalker lineage fashion, added the dreaded word. “Hopefully.”   
  
“ _ Hopefully _ ?” Rex squawked indignantly. He felt another flutter in his chest when Ahsoka confidently smashed the button she’d indicated and pushed the throttle to max. Jesse caught his eye, and while they were clearly thinking  _ we’re talking later and you can’t escape it _ , the two shared a moment where they were both praying Skywalker’s insane luck was with them. Their motley family could certainly use the help. 

Rex shifted to face the front, glaring through the transparisteel window at the once-Republic crafts that were now ravaging the worlds they worked so hard to free. It was an insult to every vod that died fighting. He shoved down his feelings, they wouldn’t help him at this moment. 

“Just because we’re invisible to their scanners doesn’t mean no one will see us,” Rex crossed his arms and shook his head. “Just one a’ these ships spots us and asks a question, and we’re gone.”

His body grew more tense by the second as they shadowed a patrol ship, weaving between enemy ships like it was one of those dances Kenobi used to insist on dragging Cody to. Rex smirked, and remembered how hard Cody would fight to be left behind, only to return from the “political functions” bearing soft smiles and starry eyes. 

On one memorable occasion, Cody and the 212th were being sent on their own mission while Kenobi went off to play Negotiator at one of the numerous soirees. Cody was mortified that he couldn’t join Kenobi. It was one thing, he confided in Rex, to protest and tease your general, and another thing entirely to deny him one of the few things he asked for. Although Rex wasn’t in quite the same situation (Skywalker would continuously harass him... _ Hey Rex, want to hang out? Hey Rex, how about a spar? Hey Rex, want to work on my ship with me?  _ It was never ending) he understood where his ori’vod was coming from. Kenobi was different. Special. 

To everyone’s surprise, Kenobi asked Rex to accompany him instead. The 501st were stationed on Coruscant to help the Guard while new troops were shipped from Kamino and trained in Guard procedure. Rex wasn’t needed for that particular task, so he was free to join his brothers...general. Rex would never forget that evening. During their small chats as they glided around the dance floor, Rex came to a deeper understanding of Kenobi the person, not the General, or the Jedi. Just, Kenobi. He personally wasn’t interested in romantic or physical relationships, but he could get why Cody chose this man. Kenobi was all good.

Rex nearly leapt out of his skin when Rahi bumped into his leg. A series of chipper beeps filled the air, cutting through the mounting tension. 

“I’m pretty sure we won’t be having any problems of that sort, but I’ll be sure to let you know if we need to use your plan, Rahi,” Ahsoka turned to flash a grin at the R4 unit. 

Thanks to a bizarre stroke of luck, or maybe thanks to Echo and Tech’s skill and foresight all those years ago, they managed to make it past the blockade without alerting anyone of their presence. They broke into the atmosphere unchallenged, but Rex didn’t relax until they were well and truly far from any Empire ships. 

Ahsoka took them down to land on the upper layers of the wroshyr forest not too far from one of the cities. The air rushed out of his lungs as he surveyed the world around him. Rex forgot sometimes how beautiful the galaxy was. 

“My friend lives over there, he’s got the comm code I need,” Ahoska powered down the ship and flipped on the camouflage . “I should be back before the sun rises, but if I’m still gone by then, you know the drill.”

The vode nodded and Rahi gave an affirming beep. 

“Listen, I don’t know what you’re going to find out there, but the wookiee's have been through a lot. Be safe,” Rex moved to clasp forearms with her before settling into the bench around the holotable. 

He watched as Ahsoka grabbed her cloak, said a quick farewell to Jesse, and whispered something to the droid. Then she was gone.

Rex stubbornly kept his eyes on the projection of Kashyyyk. When Jesse simply crossed their arms, he sighed.

“They’re forcing the wookiee's to cut down their forests, harvest them for the Empire,” Jesse didn’t reply. “Most of them have collars on, Jesse. They’re being forced to abandon their culture, their ways of life. And the Empire doesn’t care.”

“It’s just like with us,” Jesse’s quiet voice filled the air. “Rex, the Empire will stop at nothing to beat us down.”

“I know. Force’s sake, I  _ know _ Jesse.”

“Cody’s a fighter, he worked with the best CO in the army,” Jesse sat beside him and turned mournful eyes to the projection. “If they had even a single doubt that he would turn-”

“Jesse,” Rex warned. He wasn’t having this conversation again. He wouldn’t give up on his brother, not after so long. 

“I’m only saying, vod, that we need to be prepared for whatever we find. Cody might be-there might be nothing we can do. We can’t stop a crashed ship from breaking.”

Rex swallowed and closed his eyes. He knew. He’d often considered what his own course of action would be if he were the Empire. First step would be securing allegiance (the chips), the next would be placing their own people in charge, removing all the old leadership. Cody, he was as high up on the totem pole as a clone could get. He was the best of them, the most perfect product the Kaminoan's managed to create. He knew every plan, every strategy, every move available in a given battle. He was the greatest asset to have on your side, but at the same time, he was the greatest liability. 

To have so much dependency on one person, it was a risk. Just look at what happened with Echo. His capture almost single-handedly turned the tides of the war. If  _ Cody  _ were captured, the results would be even more catastrophic. If they kept him at the same position, he’d have access to all the clearance codes, all the intel. If they demoted him, however, he wouldn’t be an issue and could continue to serve. 

  
Of course, it might just be easier to get rid of the problem altogether. 

“Come on, Soka, get what we need to find Cody,” Rex muttered, not acknowledging the comforting hand on his knee but appreciating it all the same. 

  
  


Ahsoka jumped off the landing ramp and moved down a level in the forest, silently thanking the Force that her biology eased travel through the dangerous forest. Even without the Force, she could sense the predators prowling around her, looking for weaknesses. She ran, feet thudding down on the densely woven branches, arms pumping, hood flapping in the tainted air. She drew in deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. Being cut off from the Force meant she had to be more careful to use her stamina wisely, she no longer had that pool to dip into. She let herself fall into a rhythm, and felt her mind begin to wander. 

If Gungi was right, it would turn everything around. If he was alive after all, he could help them. Nothing would stop him from joining their search. Being commander of the 501st, she wasn’t as close with the vode in the 212th. But she knew Cody well. 

_ “Commander Tano,” Cody smirked and nodded his head as she stopped at the foot of the ramp.  _

_ “Commander Cody, how’s life in the 212th been?” Ahsoka crossed her arms and lifted her chin.  _

_ “Ah, same old,” Cody glanced to where Anakin and Master Obi-Wan were bickering as they descended after her. “You lookin’ for a transfer?” His humour was quiet, but if you knew where to look, it was there.  _

_ “Only if I can outrank you,” she bumped a fist against his chestplate. “I like being at the top of the chain.” _

_ “You’d have to complete ARC training at least, not to mention the command course,” Ahsoka giggled as he pulled a hand up to his chin and stroked a non-existent beard. “Tell you what, I’ll give you the first lesson for free.” _

_ “Oh? And what’s that?” Cody gestured towards Obi-Wan (she didn’t miss how his Force presence thrummed as Obi-Wan moved closer, and she certainly didn’t miss the miniscule softening of Master Obi-Wan’s face when he noticed them). _

_ “Never trust a Jedi to return when he’s says he’s going to,” Ahsoka howled with laughter, bracing a hand against Cody’s shoulder as Master Obi-Wan began pleading his case with the unforgiving Marshall Commander.  _

She snapped back to reality and noticed a gap between branches at the last moment, so she threw herself into the air, straining for the next footplace. Ahsoka instinctively went to reach out for the Force, only just managing to stop herself in time. 

Her upper body crashed into the root, and she scrambled for a hold. Grunting, she muscled her way up and was off again with hardly a pause. 

“Come on, you have to focus on the mission,” she scolded herself and made sure to pay more attention to the thinning branches as she moved closer to the perimeter of the city. 

Gungi had told her to enter his house from above in his heavily encoded message. The Empire must be so busy trying to enforce security to prevent sentients from sneaking out into the lower levels that they are far more lenient with security in the upper levels. 

“Hopefully too lenient,” Ahsoka muttered to herself as she stalked around the perimeter of the city. Seeing collars on some of the passing civilians pained her, and she knew once their quest was complete this would be their first stop. She would never forget her short time as a slave, she couldn’t fathom years of it. 

Ahsoka climbed her way up a tree thicker than their ship, taking care to move up the side facing away from the city, and ended up perched on one of the branches. If she could just figure out a way to land on his house without leaving a rope behind...she looked around. 

_ “Always check your surroundings, Snips. You never know what might come in handy.” _ __   
  


“What would Skyguy do?” Ahsoka tapped her chin. “He’d just jump and hope for the best…” That she didn’t have the Force to rely on went unsaid. Her eyes caught on a leaf. 

“This might just work, I can use it like a parachute-” Ahoska shook her head. She was far too used to having a droid around to speak her thoughts to. It would be wise to keep a quiet mouth until she was safely inside the correct home. 

She grabbed a vibroblade from her boot and cut down one of the large leaves, leaving enough stem on one side for a makeshift handle. On the other end she rolled up the edges for a handhold. It would have to do. 

After counting and double-counting the sixth house from the edge, she leapt, holding on for her life. She had enough jetpack practice to get her roughly in the intended spot. Her feet gracefully landed on the roof and she threw the leaf off the side. 

Leaning down, she tapped three times. Hopefully Gungi would know to let her in. 

From inside the humble home she could hear a loud crashing followed by a few exasperated growls and roars. Several sets of feet stomped around, and then all was quiet. 

A hand tapped her shoulder and she whipped around, fist raised for a strike. Face to face with Gungi’s surprised expression, she let herself relax marginally. 

“It’s good to see you, young one,” Ahsoka let out a warm smile and ruffled his head. “Now let’s get inside.”

“ _ I’m glad you’re here, _ ” Gungi sighed and motioned for her to follow. “ _ It’s been awful _ .”

She slipped after Gungi and landed in a cozy kitchen. Despite their slavery, they managed to keep their house a home. The traditional weavings were missing, she could see their proper spots like sores, probably pilfered by the Empirical Offices, but the rest of their home seemed in good shape. 

“Where’s your family?” She could see traces of others, several placemats on the table, and more cups than one young wookiee could surely use on his own. Not to mention the uproar her arrival seemed to cause. 

“ _ In their rooms, it’s safer this way, _ ” Gungi was a lot more mature than when she’d seen him last. Then again, so was she. The destruction of everything you knew and loved tended to do that to a person. “ _ Ready for the message? _ ” As much as she would love to catch up with the young Jedi, she was here for a purpose. She nodded and followed him to a small projector. 

She averted her eyes as he set up the call. If this information was forced from her, that would spell disaster. Even passive memories could be dangerous. 

“ _ It’s ready _ ,” Gungi tapped a hand on her shoulder before retreating. “ _ Good luck, Ahsoka _ .” 

As she waited for the other party to answer, she took a calming breath and noticed the warm smells of a wookiee home. The projector flashed to life, displaying a symbol instead of a body. 

“Hello? This is Ash,” she leaned forward and waited with baited breath for a response.  _ Please, please let this work _ , she sent a quick prayer to the Force. Was that hypocritical of her? Asking for help after cutting herself off from it? She rubbed her forehead. That wasn’t important now. 

“Ah! Young Jedi!” The voice, even filled with static as it was, conveyed entirely too much enthusiasm and joy than the situation warranted. It also, unfortunately, told her without a doubt who she was speaking to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a kudos or a comment if you want, positive reinforcement feeds my soul. Also, come say hi on tumblr! I would love to hear what you think about Patchwork!! I'm @corranblue there too :)


	4. Mourning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka follows up on her lead, Jesse has a moment to reminisce, and Rex is Going Through It. Rahi is just chilling out and trying hard to be useful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop woop! Chapter four! I have to say, it was really nice to get back into writing this. It's been so long that I totally forgot about my little droid dude and I had to go back and add him in, I felt like I'd forgotten a child at the store T-T (not that I have kids or go places, lol)  
> I hope you guys enjoy!!! Thank you so much for the support and the comments, I fully expected when I started this that it would just be me and like, maybe two readers 😂 Let me know what you think!

All of a sudden Jesse couldn’t take it anymore. Not the taste of the same recycled air they’d been breathing for years, not the feel of walls closing in on them, not the stressed out and overthinking brother sitting beside them. 

Jesse pushed themself off the bench and stalked outside, fumbling their way down the ramp with all the grace of a drunken bantha. Rex didn’t so much as stir. 

The former soldier stopped a few paces away from the Echoy’la. No matter how restless they felt, it just wasn’t safe to wander too far during a pitstop on an unfamiliar planet. They took a deep breath and could smell life all around them, and they couldn’t help but think of the first time they ever saw a tree. 

Kix had been there, smiling from ear to ear. He was so happy to stand under the sun, Jesse remembered. The medic had said something about wanting his own garden. 

[ _ It would be nice, you know,  _ he’d said while running a gloved hand up a tree trunk _ , to have the only lives depending on me be plants.  _

_ Not that you’d be any less worried about them,  _ Jesse had teased back. Kix must have been in a good mood that day, because he let out a joyous laugh that rang all around them.

_ You’re right Jesse,  _ he said once he’d managed to get his breathing in order.  _ You know me so well, ner’vod. _ ]

When Kix laughed like that, Jesse knew he forgot the war and the responsibility for a while. He forgot about their siblings dying, the broken supply lines, the uncountable sadness in the galaxy. There wasn’t much Jesse wouldn’t do to hear that laugh. 

A sigh escaped their lungs, whispering past their lips to join the riotous breeze dancing among the trees. Jesse sat on the interwoven planking and leaned back against the nearest trunk. They placed a gentle hand on a visible root and thought about their lost friend. 

“Kix,” their voice was trembling, it never got any easier. “Wherever you are, I hope there’s a garden. I hope you got that, at least.” They closed their eyes and fought back tears. 

“I could really use your help with Rex, he’s-” hurt, angry, desperate. “He’s feeling everything I felt when I lost you. With you, we never found a body. I’m hoping that with Cody, well. If you’re a part of the Manda then you know what I’m hoping.”

Jesse adjusted their posture and reclined more comfortably, hoping their little sister wouldn’t be gone long. 

  
  
  


“Hondo?” Ahsoka took a deep breath through her nose in an attempt to curb the dismay filling her. The weequay pirate had been the source of far too much strife and conflict-despite the fact that he claimed to be a “dear friend” of Master Kenobi’s. He was a sneaky, no-good, lying-

“It is me! The unfamous Hondo,” his unmistakable voice took on a confiding tone, as if anyone could hear him and think of another being.

“You mean...infamous?” If she were a weaker person, Ahsoka might have cried at the prospect of Hondo being the one who had the intel they needed. But she wasn’t, so she didn’t. “Never mind, that doesn’t matter right now. Hondo, I need to know what you-”

“Ah ah ah!” She could have sworn he was wagging his finger at her across the galaxy. “This is not the proper way to have this conversation,  _ Ash _ . We need to arrange a meeting! You can come into my office!”

Ahsoka fiddled with one of her montrals and considered. How much more dangerous could it get? Here she was, sneaking into the middle of the Empire. If she were caught, she could probably make her way out eventually. Making another stop, one that Hondo also knew she would be making, it endangered her family. If Hondo were captured, he  _ would _ give them up for the right price. She can’t blame him for that, that’s just who Hondo is. If the right, or wrong, Imperial officer got that information, well. Her lifespan would look a lot shorter.

But if she didn’t get this information for Rex…Ahsoka nodded and placed her hands on her knees. 

“What did you have in mind?” 

  
  
  


Jesse leapt up from where they were reclined when they heard light steps approach. After so many hours of stealth training together, they knew it had to be Ahsoka. 

“Vod’ika!” Jesse called when Ahsoka came into view. “I’m glad you’re back. Did you get the information?”

Ahsoka let out a long-suffering sigh and rubbed at her face markings. 

“No, Jesse, I didn’t,” she raised a hand before they could jump in. “I  _ did _ get us a meeting. We just have to transport some...cargo, as payment.”

“Cargo as payment for a meeting? Do I even want to know who your informant is?” Jesse raised an eyebrow and matched their vod’ika stride for stride as she entered the ship. 

“You’ll find out soon enough,” the amusement glimmering in her eyes was much more encouraging than her earlier pained look. Jesse slapped a hand on her shoulder.

“Buck up, vod, it can’t be that bad.”

“What can’t be that bad?” Rex’s voice came from the cockpit. When they entered the room he was already standing, enough tension in his frame to indicate that he was about to explode. 

“My contact requires payment by cargo delivery for the information. Luckily, the package is in the hands of someone they “trust completely!” He’s here on Kashyyyk,” Ahsoka moved to enter the new coordinates in the nav computer. “He gave me the proper codes so I can enter without a boarding party inspecting us, but I’m not sure how willing I am to test that. Jesse, you want to make sure the compartments are empty and ready? I’m not taking any chances with such a heavy Empirical presence.”

“You got it sister,” Jesse left the room and made for the small storage area with the R4 unit following him. He felt the ship lift off just as he was clearing the final door. 

  
  
  


“So,” Rex cleared his throat and spun the copilot chair to face her. “Kid, I need to know. How much of a long shot is this?”

Ahsoka considered for a second. On the one hand, what Gungi had told her was promising. On the other hand, they  _ were  _ dealing with Hondo. 

“I’d say the deck is loaded in our favour this time,” she flashed a quick grin his way and double-checked the flight path. They were only a few minutes out. Jesse entered the cockpit and signed -all-clear-. Rahi rolled in soon after. 

She signed back -affirmative-. “This place is a mechanics alley. The Empire needs people to perform maintenance on their foresting equipment. If something goes wrong, these are the guys the Empire contacts.”

“So why are we going to them? Folks like that, you don’t trust them,” Rex leaned back and crossed his arms. For a moment, Ahsoka saw what they used to be. Rex would give her that exact same look from across the holotable when they were planning and she chimed in with an idea. 

Anakin was hit or miss for when he felt like teaching, so Rex often would step up to guide her through the specifics of planning a successful mission. 

Ahsoka blinked and pushed the image away. She had to focus.

“The package we’re to deliver is safe in the hands of a bright young wookiee. From what I’ve heard he’s got enough sensitivity to the Force that the Order offered to take him in, but his parents refused. They kept regular contact with the Temples so he could learn to control what input he was getting, but when the Empire took over…”  _ Find him, Fives, find him!  _ “He lost his parents, and now he’s willing to do whatever it takes to take them down.”

There was silence in the pit before Rahi spoke up with a whistle and some chirps. 

Jesse knocked the droid in the head and scolded him. “You aren’t supposed to even know those words!” A pause. “But you’re right.”

“Looks like that’s the valley up ahead, I’ll send a message to Rahi when you’re clear to come out, but for now,” Ahsoka looked at her older brother. 

“Yeah, back in the closet for us,” Rex stood and stretched out his muscles. He placed a hand on her shoulder before he left, and then it was quiet once more. “Jesse-”

“I never thought I’d regret my ink. It always set me apart, in a good way. And now I can’t go out anymore, I’m a walking reminder of everything the Empire wants to cover up,” Jesse sounded miserable. While Ahsoka could never fully understand what it meant to a clone, she knew a part of it was being surrounded by vode, never alone. Always having someone to reach out to, someone to hold you and be held by you. Someone to help keep the nightmares at bay and keep watch. 

And Jesse, Jesse was more social than almost any clone she’d met. They were always with Kix if they weren’t in a group. Ahsoka didn’t have a single memory of Jesse being alone. It made her heart ache for her found sibling, to think how painful these years have been with such a small support group. 

“You’re growing out your hair, soon the curls will cover a lot of it. And what your hair doesn’t reach we’ll cover with face paints. No one will know,” she vowed. They were standing in the doorway, Jesse clearly reluctant to go to their compartment, Rahi bumping against their legs, and Ahsoka at a loss for how to comfort her vod. Among the Jedi, when one was sad you reached out with the Force and embraced their mind with comfort and safety and love, but that wasn’t an option anymore. 

“Can I give you a hug?” She asked slowly. There was a time when she could just pounce on any of her troopers and they’d catch her with a laugh and a funny quip. 

Jesse nodded, and she pulled him close. Her arms circled his back as their head pressed gently against the side of her montrals, and their arms came up to hold her around the shoulders. Their heat enveloped her, almost making her forget who was comforting who. 

The console beeped to let her know the alley was hailing her. Reluctantly she let go of her sibling and ushered them away before taking her pilot's seat. 

It seemed like the code she gave was satisfactory and she was directed to the proper clearing. She parked the ship but left the engine running. If there was one thing flying with Anakin had taught her, it was that you never knew when you’d need to make a quick escape. 

She lowered the ramp and strolled into the clearing, her montrals alerting her to a being approaching from within the still standing trees. 

“Greetings!” She called out. “I’m searching for Lowbacca?” 

The figure emerged from the foliage to reveal a tall figure she never thought she would see again. 

“Chewie!” She jogged the few steps towards him. “It’s good to see you, old friend.”

He let out a string of happy barks before waving a hand in the direction he came from. 

“You want me to follow you? I can’t Chewbacca, I’m supposed to meet a Low...bacca,” she laughed as the connection formed. “Is he a relative of yours?”

He roared in affirmation. 

“Good to know we’re in safe hands,” she cast a look around before leaning in to whisper to him. “I’m not alone, I’ve got two of my, erm, soldiers? Is it safe for them to join us?”

Chewbacca searched her eyes for something, maybe an explanation or simply to share her pain. After a few moments passed, Chewie nodded. 

She fired off a message to her droid, letting them all know they could come out. She wasn’t surprised when not even a minute later all three were descending the ramp and coming towards her. Rex immediately sized up her companion, but Jesse was more interested in their surroundings. 

“That’s a pretty large wookiee,” Rex growled out at the same time Jesse exclaimed, “these trees form a natural barrier! Genius!”

Chewie laughed and waved at the small droid. Rahi wheeled over to introduce himself. Once the dramatics were over with, the party set out into the woods to find Chewie’s young friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos if you enjoyed, and maybe come visit me on tumblr @corranblue ! I'd love to hear what you think about this story :)


	5. Good things come to those who wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aliit finally meets Lowbacca, and they have a time listening to a few very headstrong characters argue with each other. Rex reminisces about his brothers and general, Jesse can't stop laughing, and Ahsoka wishes she had another adult. Rahi is just chilling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me, I appreciate every single kudos and comment from you guys!! This fic is very dear to my heart, I am so excited for the next couple chapters! I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo but for this fic, so hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more of me this month (I'm thinking two days of writing for each chapter? Who knows! Cheering is appreciated!)

Rex was more strung up than a kaminiise scientist. One hit to his tense shoulders and they would shatter into a thousand pieces. Out of all the wookiees they could have run into, why did it have to be  _ this  _ one? Rex usually considered himself a pretty chill person. He’d kind of had to be, back in the war, dealing with his general, and then his commander, and then the disastrous event that was Fives becoming an ARC and sowing  _ even more chaos _ . Honestly, some days Rex thought he might explode from the container of stress that was the 501st. On the worst days, he wished he had taken Cody up on his half-joking offer to transfer Rex to the 212th. 

Sure, Kenobi’s troops were all “I’m going to roundhouse kick this droid” and “let’s dogpile Grievous” on the battlefield, but back on their ship it was quiet. So, so quiet. And calm, peaceful. There were no prank wars, no ARC troopers constantly following him around to ask for requisition forms (that they  _ knew  _ they could get from the quartermaster) or beg for a spar. No general comming him in the middle of the night asking if he “wanted to hang out.” If Rex had been part of the 212th, he would have been much more well-rested. 

Rex sighed and tried to focus on the path they were taking. If he  _ had _ been a part of the 212th, he wouldn’t be where he was today. He wouldn’t have been so close with his general (Cody might have bitten his head off if he tried to get as close to Kenobi as he’d been with Skywalker, despite Rex never wanting what Cody wanted). Ahsoka wouldn’t have found him in a sea of troopers and latched on to him as ori’vod, he wouldn’t have been there to calm Anakin down all those times. 

No. He wouldn’t trade being in the 501st for anything. They were his aliit. 

He spared a glance up to where Ahsoka was talking to the wookiee, “Chewie” as she’d been calling him. A shudder went down his back as the warrior threw an arm across her shoulders. Seeing them so close brought back memories, ones he wished would stay buried. 

The war had been filled with awful events, one after the other. There was Kamino, Umbara, the whole thing with Rako Hardeen, the time Rex and Kenobi were sold as slaves...

Despite everything Rex has had to survive, one of his most painful memories was failing to protect his sister. Ahsoka was captured by Trandoshians, meant to be hunted for sport. Rex was out of his mind while she was gone, Appo actually had to step up and lead his battalion. Rex was usually more than happy to fill the commanding role, content to leave Appo desperately attempting to keep up on paperwork (Anakin only did the bare minimum, which was pretty much just providing Appo with permission to forge his signature as much as he needed). But that week, it was like he couldn’t focus. How could he protect all of his other vode if he failed Ahsoka so badly?

It had all ended up just fine, his vod’ika managed to escape and wreak all sorts of havoc, but the memories of those few days where he thought he had lost her still sat heavily in his mind. Rex kept those days shut tight in a dark corner of his mind and he didn’t appreciate the walking reminder that was Chewbacca. 

Rex didn’t like the way he patted her head, or how he spoke in loud roars, or how he seemed to wrap Rahi around his little finger. And he  _ definitely  _ didn’t like how relaxed Ahsoka was in his presence. These days, the only people you could relax around were aliit, there was no trusting easily. But here Ahsoka was, trusting anyway. He couldn’t understand it. 

Before he could go any further down that path, Jesse bumped their elbows together and knocked him out of his mental spiral. 

“You know, the first time we touched down on a planet with actual trees, Kix almost cried,” Jesse ran a hand along a passing branch and chuckled. “He used to want a garden so bad he would keep me up hours into our off-shifts just to talk about all the plants he wanted to grow.”

Rex ducked his head and looked at the wookiee again. “Kix was a good brother.”

“Nu kyr’adyc, shi taab’echaaj’la,” Jesse murmured. Rex barely hummed a response, his throat was too tight with emotion. 

“So, you gonna tell me why you’re sulking? Or do I have to guess?” With that, Jesse looked at him. It was pointed, and intense, and so very much like the look Kix used to give him when he used too many stims. 

“That wookiee,” Rex scowled and swung his arms a bit more forcefully. Not even the beautiful forest could cheer him up. “He’s the one Ahsoka met when she was captured by trandoshans. He helped her escape with the other shinies, I  _ should _ be thanking him. But all I see when I look at him is our vod’ika, coming home from that-that prison of a world.” Rex’s voice cracked at the end. “She was so small before it, but when she came back...well you remember how it was. And now she’s almost as tall as you, she’s smart and kind and  _ good _ but I still just want to protect her.”

“I get it, vod, I do too,” Jesse placed a hand on his bracer. “She might not think she needs protecting, but we’re a team. We’re alitt. We need to trust her instincts. No point in trying to protect her from something she doesn’t need protecting from.” They nodded thoughtfully. “It’s okay for us to be wary for her, she’s not above making mistakes. I think we just need to be a bit more subtle about it.” Jesse raised a brow and gave one of their knowing glances. 

“Subtle?” Rex snorted. “What do any of us clones know about being subtle?”

“Hey, at least we’re better than Fives,” Jesse laughed. 

“Oya!” 

Ahsoka hadn’t missed the way Rex’s shoulders had tensed up at the sight of her friend. How could she? That little tic was one of the signs she used to watch for in the field. The tighter Rex’s shoulders were, the worse position they were in. She learned to read him, and fast, because often lives depended on it. 

If she didn’t know better, she would think Rex could use the Force. So many times his shoulders would tense right before a mission went sideways. She did know better though, one day she dragged him to the halls of healing to have his midichlorians tested.

( _ “C’mon kid, you know us clones can’t be Force sensitive,” Rex shook his head at her as she dragged him into the examination room. “And even if we were, you think it would be me?”  _

_ “Just let Healer Eerin do the test!” She’d begged him. “Aren’t you even a little curious?” _

_ “Not one bolt.” _

_ The test gave immediate results, and to Ahsoka’s complete surprise, Rex was fairly close to being null.  _

_ “Told you,” his voice was smug as he hopped off the low bed.  _

_ “Nuh-uh, this has to be wrong,” Ahsoka turned her pleading eyes to the Mon Calamari healer. “Can it be wrong?” _

_ “Force sensitivity tests are one of the most basic tests you can run. There have been cases where the test has given a false reading, but those are once-in-a-lifetime events,” she smiled at the padawan. “I’m confident your captain is not sensitive enough to the Force that it would impact his skills in any way.” _

_ As the healer took her leave Ahsoka placed her arms on her hips and frowned at him like he was a puzzle that needed solving.  _

_ “Guess I’m just that good.” When Ahsoka glanced over at him, his eyes were bright and teasing. _ )

She frowned. Maybe there was something she missed. 

“How much farther to your nephew’s workshop?” She tried to peer into the trees, but couldn’t see too far in advance. Even her montrals weren’t sensing much ahead. 

Chewie let out a loud bellow and tossed an arm over her shoulders. He patted her arm a few times before bringing his arm back to gesture at the path they were on. 

“I really hope you aren’t leading us to a dungeon,” she muttered. Ahsoka jumped when he let out a loud string of barks that sounded like laughter. Chewbacca shook a finger at her before looking up and slowing down. 

Ahsoka felt her vode at her back as they stopped, Chewie waving his arms at them to wait where they were before pushing into the deeper brush. Rahi beeped and rolled in a circle before coming to rest against Ahsoka’s leg. She tapped his dome fondly.

“You sure we can trust him?” Rex spoke close to her ear. 

“I’ve got a good feeling about this,” she turned at Jesse’s giddy laughter. “What?”

“That’s the opposite of what General Kenobi used to say,” they choked out between gasping laughs. 

“Quiet down,” Rex hissed. “We’re in enemy territory.”

“Listen, if the vod’ika has a good feeling about this that’s all I need,” Jesse held up their hands placatingly. 

“Thanks Jess,” Ahsoka felt a smile cross her face. It was good to hear Jesse laughing again. After Maul took them on Mandalore, and the chip controlling him, she knew they’d had a rougher time than the rest of them. “Let’s hope I’m right.”

Despite her gut telling her they were fine, she kept one hand on her vibroblade while they waited, and knew the others were ready with their guns and flame shooter, respectively. 

Her montrals sensed someone approaching a moment before Chewbacca was pulling aside the branches of a bush and becoming them into what looked like a well-lit cave. The first thing that caught her eye was the small speeder near the entrance that looked like it had some pretty heavy modifications on it. Anakin had taught her so much about mechanics, but if she were honest, she knew her skills were just above mediocre. This was true craftsmanship. 

The second thing she noticed was the wookiee underneath the speeder. It looked like their whole arm was inside the machine, their face scrunched up in concentration. The wookiee looked young, older than Gungi but younger than Chewie. A long stripe of black fur ran down the side of their face, blending in neatly with the brown. 

The wookiee let out a growl. 

“Pardon me, but Master Lowbacca wishes to inform you that he will be finished with his repairs momentarily, and asks that you would please wait until he completes his task,” a tinny voice rang out into the air, and Ahsoka couldn’t find the source.

The younger wookiee barked at the voice. 

“Well, is it so wrong to polish up your words? Perhaps add some manners? Two words is not an appropriate greeting,” the voice got a bit louder, and Ahsoka could pinpoint where it was coming from. A small round droid was clipped onto the wookiee’s toolbelt. “Young wookiees these days, I’m not sure why I bother.”

A hollow thunk sounded from inside the speeder, followed by a victorious cry that didn’t require a translation from the droid. It provided one anyway.

“Master Lowbacca has found the problem and is quite overjoyed.”

Lowbacca brought a hand up to his forehead and groaned, before turning to Chewbacca and going on a small rant. Chewbacca was smiling, his hands on his hips, and kept quiet until the younger wookiee was finished. 

“Why I never-replace me? Change my programming? Nonsense!” Ahsoka winced at the shrill tone and glanced down to Rahi, who was staying suspiciously quiet by her heels. “I am Em-teedee, programmed by the great C-” Lowbacca shoved his hand over the droids vocal output and glanced over to his guests. Chewbacca let out a bark of laughter and clapped his nephew on the shoulder. 

Lowbacca sheepishly brought his free hand up to wave at his guests. Ahsoka could feel Rex and Jesse behind her, sensing the way Jesse shifted nervously and the widening of Rex’s stance. She knew her vode wouldn’t start anything, but they were certainly looking for something to respond to. For just a moment she let herself mourn the galaxy they found themselves in, where meeting an old acquaintance's nephew caused so much worry and stress, and ultimately had the potential to be dangerous. 

“Hello there, you must be Lowbacca?” At the young wookiee’s nod she continued. “I’m Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano. She/her. These guys are Rex and Jesse, and the droid is Rahi. I was sent by a mutual...contact to pick up a package for delivery.”

Lowbacca let out a string of growls, nodding and gesturing around with his free hand. Before he could do anything further a bright flash came from the hand over his belt. Everyone paused. 

He carefully withdrew his hand after glancing at his uncle. He crooned out what sounded like a question. 

“I had no other choice, I had to get your attention  _ some _ how, Master Lowbacca. If you’re quite finished blocking my speakers I would like to say that I have received your message. May I do my job now?” Now that Ahsoka was thinking about it, there was something about the droid's voice and the way it spoke, something very familiar. She glanced down at her own droid as the droid and the wookiee kept talking in low tones. Rahi tilted so he could look her in the eye and whirred. 

She smiled and gave him another pat. 

“Lowbacca wishes to tell you that you may call him Lowie, and he uses he/him pronouns,” the droid paused for what Ahsoka could only assume to be dramatic effect. She glanced behind her to see Jesse stifling a smile in their hand, and even Rex had a mildly amused look on his face. “He thinks he knows the package you mean, and will bring it back momentarily.” Lowbacca glanced down at the droid, seeming unimpressed. The translator must have changed the wording somewhat, but likely not too bad considering he set off deeper into the workshop. 

Ahsoka glanced at Chewie and grinned. “Lowie must have his work cut out for him with a translator droid like that!” 

Chewie let out another laugh and pulled out a comm from one of the many pockets on his sash. He waved her over and lit up a string of numbers. 

“Your code?” He nodded. 

Ahsoka turned to her companions and signed “thoughts?” 

Jesse pointedly elbowed Rex before signing “you lead.” After a short pause, Rex hesitantly repeated Jesse’s signs. She crossed her arms. The trust they had in her was great, but she missed the days when there were adults around her who could just make the decisions, or who could at least tell her when she was going in the right (or wrong) direction. 

“Is it secure?” 

Chewbacca nodded again and placed a gentle hand on top of her head, between her upper montrals. His eyes were kind as he looked at her, and she had the feeling that whatever she decided he would be okay with. She could know for sure, if she just opened herself up to the Force…

_ It’s too much pain _ . She frowned and grabbed her own comm unit to scan his code, inputting him as a contact.  _ And besides, you’re an adult now, even if you don’t really feel like one.  _

She neatly tucked her comm back into her belt just as she felt Lowie return. He was carrying a small package of what looked like a box poorly wrapped up in brown paper and held together with space tape. 

Lowbacca tossed the object in her direction and roared a set of simple instructions. 

“Lowbacca wants you to be informed that it will be fine in most climates, but try not to leave it in the engine room. The engine room? Why would they put a package in the engine room. That is not where packages belong!” Lowbacca groaned at him, to which Em-teedee replied “If you were just making an example you should have said ‘for example,’ honestly did your mentors not teach you proper Shyriiwook?” 

Lowbacca roared and unclipped the droid, tossing it at his uncle. “There’s no need to be rude, I am simply saying that-”

Chewbacca cut the droid off with a short bark, grabbed a tool from his pouch, and waved it threateningly before the droid's sensors. Ahsoka made the mistake of glancing over at Jesse, who looked like they were a second away from breaking out into full-on laughter. Ahsoka looked up to the ceiling of the cave and tried very hard to keep a straight face, drawing on her old diplomacy lessons with Obi-Wan. 

( _ “It’s all about letting them see only what you want them to see, dear one,” her Grandmaster’s eyes twinkled under the starlight. “That’s the key to diplomacy.” _ )

Oh, that did it. Now she was just sad. She missed her masters fiercely, like a blaster bolt that wouldn’t heal. 

Jesse was having the time of their  _ life _ . This little translator droid was hilarious, exactly the sort of thing that Skywalker would have wanted. When Ahsoka looked over at them, they nearly lost it. Focusing on the older wookiee threatening the droid only made matters worse, so they turned to study Lowie instead. The young man was shaking his head slightly, his black stripe gleaming in the bright lights set up around the workshop. He was exuding frustration, but his eyes were showing amusement, and no small amount of fondness. 

They smiled when Lowie caught them staring, and tuned back into the altercation just as it came to an end. 

“Yes! I promise! Please let me go now,” the poor droid sounded distraught, but from the way Chewbacca was shaking his head, Jesse had a feeling that this wasn’t the first time the droid promised things. 

Once the droid was hanging in his rightful place again, Lowie began to speak, this time glancing between Ahsoka and Jesse. 

“Don’t forget to tell him that he owes me three favours now, and he’s lucky I’m still doing business with him. Lowbacca is very stern about this. And if I’m allowed to say, I think that-” a growl from Lowie cut him off, and the droid gave a little imitation of a huff.

“I’ll let him know Lowie, thanks for everything,” Ahsoka turned to walk towards them before Lowbacca called out and reached for her. 

“Wait! He says,” came the helpful voice. Lowbacca paused and widened his eyes a bit. He adjusted his belt before continuing. 

“Master Lowbacca was wondering if he might check over your ship? It has been a while since he has fixed anything other than foresting equipment, and he would much appreciate the chance to get his hands on a proper ship.” Lowbacca nodded and gave the small droid a pat. He pulled out some impressive sad eyes and brought his hands together in a familiar pleading gesture. Fives would always try that move on Rex, not that it worked. Jesse glanced at Rex and his smile showed that he was thinking the same thing. 

Ahsoka glanced at chrono and thought. 

“Yeah,” she finally said. “Yes, I think we have time for a little workup.”

Lowbacca roared in delight, and they didn’t need Em-teedee to tell them what he was thinking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think!


	6. Maintenance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lowbacca finally gets his hands on a hyperdrive engine and is having the time of his life, Ahsoka fondly remembers her time with Anakin, Rex has a dream about his ori'vod that leaves him more desperate than before to find Cody.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! Goodness! Thanks to everyone who is reading, commenting, and kudosing! It makes my heart smile :)  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!! We are getting close to something I've been looking forward to since I planned this guy out! Also I'm way behind in where I should be for what chapter I'm on, but there are worse problems to have, right? Enjoy!

The walk back to the Echoy’la passed by in a much more lighthearted mood than before. The omnipresent threat of being discovered still hung over them, but spirits were high. 

Jesse grinned as they listened to Lowbacca excitedly talking to his uncle, waving his arms around and skipping a few steps. Em-teedee chimed in every so often with a correction, or to supply a forgotten word. Chewbacca was watching his nephew fondly, nodding and asking him questions. 

Jesse heard Rex and Ahsoka talking behind them on the path, but they were content to stay where they were, treading along silently beside Rahi. The R4 unit stopped occasionally to scan an interesting plant or insect, and each time Jesse would patiently wait until he was done. After the scan, Rahi would either have a name and a tidbit for him, or he would roll along in silence, lost in thought. 

When they reached the clearing where their ship was parked, all the conversations came to a halt. Lowie gasped and brought a hand to his chest before turning his pleading eyes to the group of them, clearly asking for permission to touch. 

“Go ahead,” surprisingly, it was Rex who answered. Jesse grinned when Lowie gave a small bounce and sprinted toward the lowering ramp. Chewbacca let out a chuckle before loping toward the landing gears with his own toolbox. 

Jesse looked up to the clear sky and wondered if the wookiees would find something major that would ground them for a while. As much as they wanted Rex to have his answers, Jesse wouldn’t mind staying on such a green planet. Although, they reminded themself, it might not be green for that much longer. 

Jesse came back down to land when a hand clasped their shoulder, startling them out of their contemplation. They looked over to see Rex giving them his strategy look. 

“What,” they frowned at him. 

“Just thinkin’ about that time Skywalker completely dismantled that shuttle on our way back to Coruscant,” Rex shook his head. “It must have been, what, two months since he’d seen the Senator? General was going stir crazy.”

“I don’t remember him taking it apart, but I certainly remember him forcing us to help put it back together,” Jesse scowled good-humouredly at their brother. “Longest hyperspace trip of my life.”

“Longer than the time Cody made our troops do joint training?” Rex raised an eyebrow. 

“Kark! I forgot about that, he almost killed us, and the 212th were barely breaking a sweat!” Jesse shook their head. “Course that didn’t hold a candle to ARC training. Ori’haat, Cody gave all his troops ARC training under the radar.”

“That’s exactly the sort of thing he’d do,” Rex’s voice was quiet. Jesse glanced over and saw the way his face was pinched. “I miss him, vod. I want him back.”

“I know, Rex, I know,” Jesse pulled him into a tight hug. “We’ll find him.”

Ahsoka may not have been the fastest scanner in the medbay, but she knew her stuff. She was great with routine fixes on their home, especially wiring and electronics. Where she lacked was the skills-and motivation, if she were honest-to do those deep cleans every year or so. Things tended to build up after spending so long in orbit. 

Back when Anakin was teaching her, these were her favourite days. They’d wake up early and make a pitstop in the mess halls for caf before heading down to the hangar. If they were docked by the 212th, they might see Master Obi-Wan and Cody in the mess hall, looking like they’d been up for hours as they fumbled around with bleary eyes and massive yawns. Towards the end of the war she realized that those two pretty much didn’t sleep at all, but younger her like to imagine that her other master was just that much of an early bird, and not simply drowning in all the paperwork. Paperwork that she and Anakin just...ignored. 

By the time they made it down to the hangar and into the corner they set up as a workshop of sorts, the caf would have mostly kicked in, and Anakin would be talking her ear off, dictating lists of checks that needed to happen off the top of his head. She never understood how he could keep all that information in his brain. 

( _ “Okay snips, first we’ll need to get into the hyperdrive to make sure the systems are getting proper readings, and from there we’ll move to the fuel lines. This lady is guzzling fuel like she’s parched, I want to make sure there isn’t a leak somewhere,” Anakin Force jumped onto the top of the shuttle. “Actually, first I’ll recalibrate the communications radar up here. You get to work on the engine.” _

_ Ahsoka smiled and threw him a loose salute. “Sure thing Skyguy.” _

_ She set her mug down on a nearby toolkit and pushed up the sleeves of her jumpsuit. Time to get to work. _ )

Ahsoka leaned against the entrance to the engine room, scanning for signs of Lowbacca. She noticed his toolkit laying beside the control panel, but where was he…

A welcoming growl drew her attention to the back of the room, where Lowbacca had his head inside of a panel. The hyperdrive, if she remembered correctly. 

“Master Lowbacca says he’s back here!” Came Em-teedee. 

Ahsoka shook the last of her memories from her mind and wandered closer. “How’s she looking?”

A loud bump came from inside the panel, followed closely by a groan. 

“Perhaps you should avoid sticking your head into unfamiliar hyperdrives then, Lowbacca.”

Lowie roared at the droid and pulled his head out of the panel. 

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with it. Manuals can become outdated the moment they are published. A ship might have any number of modifications done to it, especially a ship owned by a group of fugitives from the Empire,” Em-teedee’s voice was quieter than it had been earlier, maybe he was trying to be mindful of the enclosed space. “You really can’t predict what they might have had access to, or what kind of damage the ship has had.” If the droid had a body, it would most certainly be shaking its head at the young wookiee. 

Lowie hung his head and moaned. 

“Of course I’m right!” Lowie looked like he was regretting the admission and abruptly turned to focus on Ahsoka. He gave her a thumbs up before letting out a string of barks and growls. 

“Lowbacca estimates he can have the hyperdrive cleaned out in a standard hour, if you would be willing to assist him.”

Ahsoka pushed up the sleeves of her jumpsuit and crouched beside him. 

“What do you need?”

In the end, they spent about three hours tuning up the ship while her vode kept watch. Jesse wandered in occasionally, and Lowbacca stopped by once to ask if it was okay to improve the efficiency of their navigation system, but mostly she spent the time elbow deep in the ship with Lowbacca and Em-teedee. Once they hit their groove, it was surprisingly enjoyable. Not quite what it had been like with Anakin, but close. 

Lowbacca was a really kind soul, and even little Em-teedee had grown on her by the end of the afternoon. 

Lowie fitted the panel back into place and stood up with a groan, rubbing a hand on his lower back. Ahsoka winced in solidarity and stood up herself, stretching her arms high enough that her fingers brushed the ceiling. Lowie swiftly gathered up his tools and arranged them in their proper places on his toolbelt or in his kit. 

He came to stand beside her and bumped their elbows together, speaking quietly. 

“Lowbacca wants you to know how much he has appreciated you allowing him to work on your ship. He says it has been an absolute please to get his hands on a real hyperdrive,” Em-teedee paused as Lowie continued. “His uncle won’t let him near any of the hidden ships, in case he is discovered, so this has been good for him to keep his skills up to par.”

Ahsoka pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Thank  _ you _ , Lowie. In another life, we might have been good friends.” 

Lowie grinned at her and barked a few times. “Lowbacca agrees. He regrets the circumstances you met in, but not meeting you. And if I can say so myself, miss, it has been a pleasure.”

Ahsoka leaned down to pat the droid. “It has been a pleasure, you two. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again someday.”

The two families made quick work of goodbyes and lifted off, but not before Chewbacca gave her a bone-crushing hug and made her promise she would let him know if she needed any help at all. Ahsoka saw Jesse say a gentle farewell to Lowie while Rahi bumped against a kneeling Chewbacca and chittered away. 

Once they were all finally back in the cockpit, Rex felt like he could fully relax. It was good to be on a planet, but there were too many things that could happen, things Rex couldn’t control. It was easier to keep his aliit safe when they were all in place where he could see them.

He slumped down into one of the back seats and closed his eyes. 

“You going to tell us where we’re heading?” Rex overheard Jesse’s quiet voice. Maybe they thought he was sleeping.

“We’re meeting my informant in a patch of space in the Outer Rim,” Ahsoka’s voice was quiet too, and Rex found he was struggling to stay awake.

“Kashyyyk is in the Mid Rim, so what are you thinking, few days, tops? Or is it ‘other side of the galaxy’ Outer Rim?” Jesse’s voice was floating.

“It’s this side, and we’ve got a few options for hyperlanes to get there, if we take this main one here we get there faster, but if we hop between-” Rex couldn’t stay awake any longer. He tried, but being on edge for so long wore him right out. He closed his eyes and let himself relax. 

Rex startled awake, almost rolling off his rack in surprise. He looked around the room for the source of his disturbance, but all he could see were his vode sleeping in their own bunks. He let out a sigh and swung his legs over the side of his bed. The captain pushed himself up. Might as well tackle some paperwork since he was awake anyways. There’s no reason for Appo to have to do his stuff as well as the general and commander’s work. 

He flinched when the bright light from his datapad hit him, it should have automatically adjusted to the low lighting in the barracks, why wasn’t it?

He heard a vod laugh at him and felt a smack to his shoulder. Rex looked to his right to find Cody sitting beside him on the couch, smirking in that small way of his. 

“You all right, vod’ika?” Cody tilted his head. “You looked spaced out for a moment.”

“Yeah, yeah Codes, I’m good,” Rex shook his head and went back to his datapad. There was nothing wrong. He was exactly where he needed to be. “Hey, did you hear the commander is heading back to Coruscant for some jetii training? I hate that she’ll be away from us, but to be honest I’m just relieved she’s going to be away from the front lines for a while.”

“She’s still a shiny inside, no matter how many battles she’s seen,” Cody nodded and his face tightened with pain. “Sometimes in war, it’s hard to be the one that survives.”

Rex nodded from where he was sitting on the bench and watched Cody walk out the door. His chest felt tight as Cody got farther and farther away from him, he wanted to reach out and hold him, keep him there with Rex where he belonged, this wasn’t right, it wasn’t-

Rex gasped and flew upright, sweating and confused. “Cody?” He whispered, and grabbed his head. It was just a dream. He wasn’t on the Resolute with his vode, or on the Negotiator visiting Cody, or in any planet-side base with his ori’vod. He looked at the walls of his room on the Echoy’la and felt his heart drop. This was home now, and his aliit was small. Rex blinked away the last of his tears (when had those started?) and swung his legs over the side of his bed. They were arriving at the rendezvous point today, he wanted to be up on the brid-in the cockpit when they came out of hyperspace.

The deeper they went into the Outer Rim, the more thoughts of his brother filled his mind. He was so close to his answers, he could feel it. 

He decided to pull on his vambraces. Even stripped of their paint, they held a certain sense of safety with them. It felt right to wear armour, as small as the pieces were. He snorted as he remembered Cody bemoaning his general’s lack of armour, an occasion that became all the more frequent the later in the war they went. 

( _ “Force, Rex, if anything he should have  _ more _ armour, not less!” Cody dropped his head into his arms and moaned. “I need him to make it to the end of this war. I need that.” _

_ Rex patted Cody on the back. “Don’t worry, vod, there’s nothing that could kill Kenobi, except  _ maybe _ his extreme sleep deprivation.” _

_ Cody moaned again. “Don’t even get me started on that! He’s stopped listening to me because, and I quote, ‘dear commander, I will sleep when you will, a hypocrite has no room to judge.’ I mean, what am I supposed to do Rex?” Cody lifted his head to take another swig from his bottle. “Am I supposed to tackle him and hold him down until he sleeps?” Cody looked like he was actually considering it. Not that that would help things at all. _

_ “You know, Kix uses Kenobi as an example for the shiny medics. How to guilt your Jedi 101 he calls it,” Rex rubbed his chin. “You just have to tell him how much you care about his well being, then his jetii guilt will do all the work.” _

_ “I think I care  _ too _ much,” Cody groused. “That’s the whole problem.” _

_ They cheersed and fell into a comfortable silence. _ )

Rex was adjusting the cloak over his vest as he entered the cockpit, already making a beeline for the nav console. The updates Chewbacca gave it really improved the time frame it gave them. It used to give them rough estimates for travel times, now it gave them a countdown timer to the minute. The past few days had sped by them, the family's hyperspace routine down pat by now. 

There was less than half an hour until they were due to exit. He spent most of that time playing dejarik with Jesse, and losing soundly. It was one of the few things his tactical mind couldn’t win. Everyone he’d ever known beat him at it. Even Fives, the one time Rex agreed to play him. Rex wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but the only reason he agreed to play Fives was because he thought he might at least have a chance against him. But no, the ARC trooper soundly defeated him, and Rex hadn’t even seen it coming. Thankfully Fives had been a good sport about it. Otherwise Rex might have had to transfer him. Not that Rex was a sore loser. Not at all. 

Even with Rahi crooning suggestions to him every so often, Rex didn’t win a single game. 

“Ah, you’ll get it eventually,” Jesse winked at him and crossed their arms. “Maybe.”

“Easy for you to say,” Rex grumbled. 

“Ready for this?” Ahsoka glided into the room, stopping to knock her forehead first against Jesse’s, then against Rex’s, and finally against Rahi’s dome. 

“Been ready for years,” Rex stood up and went to look out the viewport. Stars were still streaking past, the long lines reminding him of the starburst on Cody’s chestplate. 

“Yeah, sure,” Jesse came to stand beside him, close enough that his siblings kama brushed against his leg. He smiled at the sensation, knowing how hard they had tried to relearn how to walk without it after the war, before giving up entirely and simply painting it with a natural brown. 

Rahi rolled in a circle and beeped excitedly. Ahsoka laughed and sat down in the pilot's seat at the exact moment they dropped out of hyperspace. 

The first thing Rex noticed was the ship entering hyperspace across from them. It looked like an Empire fighter from what Rex could see before it zipped into nothing. 

The next thing Rex noticed was the flaming wreck of a ship shattered into a cloud of uncountable pieces. It was completely destroyed. 


	7. Frustrations and Philosophy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew search among the wreckage for anything that could help them rediscover their path. There's a soft sibling moment with Ahsoka and Jesse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am several chapters ahead in writing, and I have to say there's some good stuff coming. I'm actually editing before I post now? Wild. Oh and I'm almost caught up to where I planned to be chapter-wise so that's great! You can expect much more regular updates now, I have really regained the zest for writing.

Ahsoka swore and grabbed the controls, only barely managing to avoid one of the projectiles flying out from the center of what was presumably Hondo’s ship. She felt Rex slide into the copilot's seat beside her and ask for orders, but all she could think was that was Hondo, that’s  _ Hondo _ . The weequay pirate was her last hope for not being alone in the universe, not being the last one…

( _ “Come on master, you’re not really friends with a  _ pirate _ ,” Ahsoka scoffed and had to jog a bit to keep pace with Master Obi-Wan. “I mean, he’s a pirate! Aren’t they the bad guys?” _

_ “From a certain point of view, I suppose they are,” her grandmaster agreed and smiled down at her, the sunlight was catching on his hair and giving him the illusion of being on fire.  _

_ “How can you be friends with a bad guy?” She didn’t understand. Anakin always taught her that the line between their side and their enemies was hard and fast. This wasn’t really computing.  _

_ “Well, I for one do not see Hondo as a ‘bad guy’ dear one, he is just a simple man looking for profit,” Master Obi-Wan placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped them outside the command tent. “We need to look beyond what we know to find the truth.” _

_ With another smile he looked up from her, and went from happy to practically shining in the Force.  _

_ “Commander!” Her grandmaster sauntered away from her, robes swishing in the gentle breeze as he moved to join Cody.  _

_ “Hey, don’t be all cryptic and run away from this!” She stormed after him. “What do you mean by that, look beyond what we know? I don’t understand, master.” _

_ Cody looked amused as he reached out to knock their forearms together in greeting. He also offered her a sympathetic look as she crossed her arms and waited for an answer. _

_ “It means, young padawan, that everything is not what it seems,” he sighed and waved an arm at Cody. “For example my dear, consider the clones.” _

_ “What about them?” She tilted her head and furrowed her brow. She watched as her master gestured for her to wait before disappearing inside the command tent.  _

_ The two commanders exchanged a puzzled glance as a murmured conversation drifted out from inside. The High General emerged a moment later with an officer in tow. _

_ “Squash, would you please take off your bucket?” The clone did as asked and pulled his helmet off, tucking the orange armour under his arm and flashing a smile at Ahsoka. Master Obi-Wan turned to her and asked, “Now, what do you see?” _

_ “Is this some sort of trick?” She squinted at the Jedi Master and felt a wave of affection curl around her.  _

_ “No my dear, I’m trying to answer your question. What do you see?”  _

_ Ahsoka turned her attention back to the officer, who was looking thoroughly entertained by the whole ordeal.  _

_ “I see dark curly hair, brown eyes, some laugh lines?” She ventured, and continued at the encouraging nod she received from Cody. “A bruise is healing on-what are your pronouns Squash?” _

_ “He/him/his, sir,” Squash brightened up at the question and she felt another wave of affection from Obi-Wan.  _

_ “A bruise is healing on his face, and I think I see a scar on his chin. Master, what is the point of this?” Her master waved his hand and went to stand beside Cody. Ahsoka pretended not to see the way he squeezed a hand over Cody’s bicep, or the way Cody’s body automatically tilted towards the Jedi.  _

_ “Now look at Cody, what do you see?”  _

_ She met Cody’s eyes with a slight flush. Her first thought was that she saw a friend. A trickle of laughter filtered into her mind and she paused to glare at the general.  _

_ “I see his scar, that he is due for a haircut soon, the way he’s trying not to laugh at me,” she tapped a finger against her forearm. “He tells you a lot with his eyes.” _

_ “Hey,” Cody said mildly. He winked at her when she smirked at him.  _

_ “Very good,” Master Obi-Wan nodded and withdrew his arms into the sleeves of his robes.  _

_ “Master, I’m afraid I still don’t understand. What lesson are you trying to teach me?” She could feel Cody’s attention through the Force, he felt just as interested in the answer as she was. Squash just felt happy to be included.  _

_ The general waved Squash to stand beside Cody. “Genetically, these men are almost the same. Aside from a few tweaks to the commanders DNA, they are the same person, are they not?” _

_ “No!” Ahsoka was shocked.  _

_ “But do they not look similar? Speak with the same voice? Are they not clones?” Her Master was watching her intently.  _

_ “That’s not the point master, they’re different people! They might be clones, but each one of them shines differently in the Force,” Ahsoka felt greatly unnerved. It was one thing to hear ignorant civilians grouse about the clones, it was another entirely to hear your grandmaster say such things. “Being a clone is not who they are, I mean, they  _ are _ clones but they are individuals too. Cody wears his hair shorter, and his voice is a bit deeper. They take what they have and make it their own. Squash feels like a stream of bubbles in the Force, but Cody,” she hesitated.  _

_ “Cody feels like a warm sun,” her master chimed in. “Ahsoka, being labelled with a word does not immediately make you fit the stereotypes attributed to that group. Our troopers are clones, but that doesn’t mean each one of them experiences life the same way.” _

_ “So,” she shook her head. She still didn’t get it.  _

_ “Being a clone does not automatically make you the same as everyone around you. What it means to be a clone changes from person to person,” he pulled an arm out from his sleeve to run over his beard. “There is no one way of filling that title. What we see are clones, but there is so much more to these people than that. The truth is that they are astoundingly unique and precious, they have a culture and a language, an understanding of their place in our galaxy. There is more to them than meets the eye.” _

_ Cody was distracting her with the adoring way she looked at the Jedi Master.  _

_ “I think I understand. There is no one way of being a clone, and there is no one way of being a pirate,” she dropped her arms and frowned. “Wouldn’t it have just been easier to say that Hondo isn’t like other pirates?” _

_ “Hondo? You got into a conversation about philosophy because of  _ Hondo _?” Cody’s smirk became one of his rare full smiles. Her grandmaster was right, Cody was lit up like a sun in the Force.  _

_ “Don’t start, my dear,” and with that, he pushed back into the tent followed closely by Squash. _ _   
_ _ Cody shook his head at her. “He really loves not giving us easy answers, doesn’t he?” _ )

“-ka! Ahsoka!” She blinked to find herself back in the cockpit of the Echoy’la with Jesse yelling at her from deep in the ship. 

“What?” Ahsoka called back as she carefully maneuvered the ship outside the radius of the explosion and circled around. 

“There’s an escape pod trying to contact us, should I patch them through?” Her heart leapt at the proclamation. 

“Yes! Yes! Send it to the speakers up here if you can,” Rahi’s whistles sounded in the air, and she grinned. 

“Thanks Rahi, I’ll owe you one!” She could feel Rex looking at her as she set up the hologram. 

After a few silent moments, she heard a low beep from the R4 unit as a form flickered to life on the call. 

“Hondo! You made it!” She didn’t even try to mask the happiness in her voice. 

“Ah, I am glad to see you, young Jedi!” Hondo leaned into his console and his face became almost comically large on their end. “I thought maybe-but no matter! The great Hondo always survives! I did not need your help, I had everything under control!” As usual, his light cadence ensured her that the weequay was fine. “But, eh, since you are here you may as well pick me up.”

“Of course, Hondo,” Rex’s eyes were wide open, and his mouth was set in a perfect circle. Ahsoka giggled and entered the coordinates the pirate rattled off to her. “We’ll be there in a minute, Hondo. See you soon.” She cut the call and sent the ship off to collect the escape pod. Jesse and Rahi reentered the bridge. 

“Was that really Hondo?” Jesse was laughing. “General Skywalker told us about him! He tried to sell him and General Kenobi for credits.”

“Don’t forget Dooku,” Rex chimed in helpfully. “They were all chained together.”

“Man, Skywalker was pissed! You sure we can trust this guy?” Jesse leaned against the back of her chair and rested their head in between her montrals. “Heard he’s a pirate.”

“Hondo isn’t like other pirates, you’ll see,” she kicked Rex, who looked like he was about to go into pout mode again. “He just wants to make money and friends.”

“Can think of better ways to do that then kidnapping powerful, trained Force-users,” Jesse commented. Rahi whirred in agreement. 

“Well it worked with Master Kenobi, didn’t it?” They were silent at that. 

Rex sighed. He didn’t want to be the one who was always mistrustful, but it felt like the rest of them were almost too quick to trust.  _ Someone  _ had to be realistic. Then again…

“If Kenobi trusted him, I guess that’s good enough for me.”

“Oh, I didn’t say he trusted Hondo!” With that his vod’ika leaned forward to look out the viewport, dislodging Jesse on the way. “There he is, let’s get ready to pull them in.”

It took a bit of fiddling around, but they managed to use their tractor beam to pull the escape pod into their cargo hold, but it was a tight fit with all of them, their supplies, Jesse’s backup equipment, and a pod, but they made do. 

The door unsealed and out leapt a very frumpy looking weequay that was most certainly Hondo. 

“My friends!” He exclaimed and threw his hands in the air. “What good timing you have!”

Ahsoka stepped forward to offer a hand to the pirate, who stepped down off the pod with great ceremony.

_ Kriff _ , Rex thought.  _ This guy is more dramatic than Fox.  _

“Did you bring my package?” His voice rang out with glee. 

“Your entire ship was just destroyed, and you’re asking about a package the size of a droid popper,” Rex couldn’t believe this guy. Where the kark were his priorities?

“Yes, where is my payment for such a…” he paused, glancing around the room as if he would find a suitable metaphor hiding in one of the crates. “Where is it!” 

“Okay Hondo, calm down,” Ahsoka crouched down and whispered to Rahi. 

The little droid shook its dome back and forth, but after a bit of coaxing he moved closer and opened up a hatch, sticking the package out with his arm.

“Vor’e Rahi,” Ahsoka took the package and stood up, brushing off the dust that had settled on it while Rahi was hanging on to it. “Here you are, Hondo. Your package.”

“Wonderful!” The four of them held still with baited breath, waiting for Hondo to unwrap whatever it was that made the destruction of his ship worth it. Instead, he just kissed the wrappings and tucked it into a vest pocket. 

“What-” Jesse cut him off with a well-timed cough. 

“Lowbacca wants you to know that you have to keep that thing out of the engine room,” Jesse spoke a bit louder than usual, probably to keep Rex from causing a scene. Rex scowled. “Also, you owe him three favours, and he says ‘you’re lucky he’s still doing business with you.’ That’s a direct quote.”

Hondo frowned at Rex’s sibling before patting his chest. “Fear not my spry friend, this shall go where it belongs soon enough!” He turned to the togruta. “Now, you want those coordinates, yes? Take me to your navigation computer!”

Ahsoka led the way out of the cargo hold and sealed the doors behind them. Jesse stopped to deal with getting the escape pod out of the hold. They were the best choice really, especially with Rahi supervising. Rex wasn’t any good at using the tractor beams. Give him a blaster any day. 

Once the other three were gathered in the cockpit, Ahsoka pointed Hondo to the navi computer. 

“You said you had information and a location for me, what was so secret you couldn’t comm it to me?” Ahsoka leaned up against the entryway and watched Hondo input the coordinate. 

Rex noted that he didn’t start the calculations yet. Now that was something to respect. This pirate might not be so bad after all. 

“Ah ah ah! I said I have information by  _ way  _ of a location!” When Hondo spun around there was a twinkle in his eye that reminded Rex forlornly of Skywalker again. 

“Looks like we’re close enough, Tatooine, right? That’s where those will take us? So why don’t you just tell us now what we’re walking into?” Ahsoka tilted her head and Rex approved. Finally, some critical thinking from the little commander!

“My friends, I was sworn to secrecy, to never tell a soul what I know! But!” The weequay tapped his nose. “I did not say anything about  _ showing  _ people! I cannot tell you, but I can take you. The real question, children, is do you trust me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't kill Hondo, no way. Rex would never forgive me if I let his one lead fly away into the wind, never to be heard from again...  
> Also idk if I've even mentioned it yet, but I pictured Jesse as having grown out their hair after That Day, but no beard. Rex is letting his own hair grow out a bit, but he hates the maintenance for long hair so it's barely flop in your face length. Ahsoka, clearly, has not grown any hair 😂 and neither has Rahi (although the droid did let Rex paint him in blue and gold for the 501st and the 212th)  
> Anyways I hope you are all staying safe! Thanks for reading, as always


	8. Confession Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew make the choice to listen to Hondo, despite not trusting them as far as they can throw him (which is pretty far, I mean they are all super buff, anyways-) and head off on the short hyperspace journey. Jesse gets their hair done, Ahsoka considers starting another kitchen fire/learning how to cook, and Rex takes up his brotherly mantel and teases Ahsoka.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, pretending to know how droids and ships work: motors??? Air intakes?? I assume that every so often a ship will need to redo their air, so when I say air filters I guess I mean they pushed all the old air out and gathered up new air??? IDK GUYS. Kashyyyk air better than stale ship air  
> Hondo is chaotically unpredictable and I love his character so much, I hope you guys do too! I would like to say for the record that Ahsoka cannot and will never be able to cook anything beyond like roasting meat (even then she burns it). She is a carnivore who would eat bugs off the ground if given the choice.   
> Sorry for the long note but I have one more thing: in this house we respect the Jedi Order! Whether we agree with attachment rules or not, whether we understand their culture or would want to be a part of it, it's still their culture! I'm not about to go bashing them for it (this is not a blind respect, heavens knows I think the Jedi had their faults). But ultimately, their way of life is valid and I want to respect that. Enjoy!

Ahsoka sighed and remembered Master Obi-Wan telling her in  _ no _ uncertain terms that Hondo wasn’t someone you just trusted. She could see the way he paused everything he did, looked her dead in the eyes, and drilled this message home. 

So to hear Hondo ask if they trusted him, well. To stay true to her master, the answer to that always had to be no. Did she think Hondo would betray them to the Empire? Probably not. Did she think he would majorly inconvenience them if given a monetary incentive? Yeah, most likely. 

She stared the pirate down as he grinned and kept his arms up. All her diplomacy training, whooshed from her mind. Master Kenobi would be laughing at her, though of course he would hide it with a hand to his mouth. 

“I can’t speak for the others, but I don’t trust you,” Jesse’s voice filtered towards her, saving her from an awkward confession. She turned to look at her sibling. 

“But,” they continued and padded forward a few steps. “It looks like you’re our only option.”

“Indeed!” Hondo clapped his hands. “Well, whenever you are ready we can set out!” He stepped close to Ahsoka and leaned in to whisper, “Just between you and me, young Jedi, we should leave before another Empire ship arrives.”

“So, we’re going to Tatooine,” Ahsoka moved towards the nav console, hesitating to press the button that would activate the autopilot. The air was thick with anticipation, and even without the Force she knew they were on the edge of something. She hoped with all her heart that Hondo had the information he said he did. If Mas-no. 

Ahsoka pressed the button and watched the stars morph into the streaks of hyperspace. Actually thinking those words were too dangerous. It wouldn’t just be her hopes she would be raising, it was Rex’s and Jesse’s, even little Rahi. Force knows Rex is on the edge of his seat already, and Jesse’s mind is still healing, even years after...and though he was the newest member to their precious family, Ahsoka knew Rahi cared about their mission just as much as they did. 

Rex cleared his throat to get her attention. 

“Since we’ve got some time before we land, I’m going to grab lunch.”

Ahsoka nodded absentmindedly as he set off for their scant kitchen. She was more occupied with the way Hondo was circling Jesse. 

“My friend, your hair is quite long!” His eyes were gleaming with the promise of mirth. “What would you say to me braiding it?”

Jesse blinked and their shoulders stiffened. Ahsoka herself tilted her head and felt her mouth drop open. What in the Force?

“I-uh, what?” Jesse was blushing, dear thing. They still weren’t used to having hair. It was one of the reasons they still kept their beard trimmed. 

Ahsoka didn’t understand the way humans were with hair. It seemed to her that growing hair was like growing nails. A certain amount was necessary, but beyond that they were useless. Although, she did know that hair was one of the main ways clones built their own identities. There was certainly a reason why Jesse kept their head clean shaven during the war, having long hair to obscure their tattoo must make them feel like a part of their identity was ripped away. She scolded herself internally for not realizing sooner. 

“We weequay are quite skilled with braids, my young friend,” Hondo clapped a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “And it is also an excellent way to pass gossip! Or, er, information!”

“Oh, well, okay,” Jesse moved a hand up to their thick curls. “I’ve never given much thought to braids before.”

“Wonderful! Here, sit in this chair, and tell me everything,” Hondo shoved Jesse down in the copilot seat and swung it around so he was standing at their back. 

Ahsoka smiled and left them to it. She should probably go grab some food herself. Absently, she wondered if she should give cooking another try. 

Jesse tried very hard not to fiddle with their sleeves, but it was such a foreign feeling to have someone touch their hair, hair they still weren’t used to having. 

“I think it’s time for a proper introduction, I am Hondo, he/him,” Jesse blinked at the added pronouns. “The  _ in _ famous pirate, and dear friend of the Jedi.”

“I’m Jesse, they/them. And I thought you were just friends with General Kenobi?” Jesse sat very still as gentle hands parted their thick curls. 

“Ah yes, Kenobi! My dear friend,” they felt the hands begin to tug as the pirate presumably began the braid, stopping to readjust every so often. “That man never took a break! He used to complain to me, you know, when I captured him, about how tired he was.”

“When you captured him? Did you do that a lot?” Jesse’s eyebrows shot up. The 501st were under the assumption that it only happened the one time. 

“Oh yes, whenever I thought he needed a break,” another tug from the impossibly gentle hands. “I made sure to give him my best cell. I don’t think his commander liked me very much, he always yelled when he came to pick Kenobi up.”

“Commander Cody yelled at you?” Jesse’s heart couldn’t take much more shock. The esteemed Marshal Commander, yelling at a pirate? The image was so absurd Jesse had to laugh. 

“Oh yes, of course he did! I stole his Jedi, many times, many times,” Hondo changed his voice to a more conspiring tone. “You know, when they walked away I could hear the commander yelling at Kenobi too.”

“Yeah, now that sounds like Cody,” Jesse laughed again, and noticed their head felt much lighter. They raised a hand to feel the progress being made and received a swat for their trouble. 

“No touching! I’m not done yet.”

“Okay, okay, no touching,” Jesse bounced their knee a bit. They were excited for the reveal. The last time they’d seen someone braid their hair, it was Tup, the morning before his chip misfired. 

( _ Tup enjoyed braiding his own hair, and he was good at it too. He could do complex updos to rival Amidala, all while making sure they fit under a bucket. But if you asked him, he’d tell you there was nothing he loved more than having another vod do it for him.  _

_ “It’s so peaceful,” Tup hummed and leaned farther into Kix’s legs. “It might sound silly, but I feel like I can feel how much you care when you do my hair.” _

_ Jesse watched Kix lean down to press his forehead against Tup’s, somehow managing to keep a hold on the strands he was working on. “That’s not silly at all, vod’ika. Thank you for letting me.” _

_ Jesse finished strapping on their armour, but left their bucket laying on their bunk. They loped over and flopped down beside Kix on his bunk, placing their newly-shaved head on Kix’s lap. They let out a sigh and watched Kix finish Tup’s braid from below. It was fascinating to Jesse, watching Kix’s hands that were normally so rough and fast (they had to be, as a field medic), move slowly and gently. _

_ Kix grabbed a tie and finished it off, patting Tup on the shoulder to let him know he was done. Tup’s hands immediately felt along the braid, and he beamed at Kix when he recognized it. _

_ “It’s just a Dutch braid, nothing too fancy,” Kix’s hands went to tugging on Jesse’s ears, always needing something to do. Jesse smiled and closed their eyes to the touch. There was something about their brother that made them feel so safe. They knew Tup felt it too.  _

_ “It’s perfect,” Tup stood up and moved to pull on his chestpiece. Jesse winced as they saw once again how loose it was on him.  _

_ Tup’s batch were sent out before their training was complete, so the standard armour didn’t fit them as well as it should. Tup was the only one from his original batch to make it past their first battle. Kix’s hands splayed over their head, and they knew he shared their thoughts.  _

_ Tup wasn’t just a vod’ika, he was  _ the  _ vod’ika. Still so small, so young. Maybe that was why every veteran from the 501st took special care of him. He was their younger brother, he was dear to them all. Just like Wooley from the 212th.  _

_ “Remind me to update your nutrition requirements when we get back, I don’t think you’re getting enough,” Kix’s voice was tight. Jesse blinked up at him in sympathy.  _

_ “Okay, thanks Kix!” Tup chirped before skipping away. Jesse sighed. _

_ “You know an extra ration bar isn’t going to make him grow any faster.” _

_ “I know,” Kix’s hands were still. Jesse turned their gaze to meet their brother's eyes.  _

_ “Hey,” Jesse sat up at the sheer sadness in Kix’s eyes. “He’ll be okay. We’ll get him through this.” _

_ Kix gave a sharp nod and went to stand up, only to sink back down and pull Jesse into a mirsh’mure’cya.  _

_ “You’re my brothers, I’d be lost without you,” Jesse grabbed onto Kix’s neck.  _

_ “I’m not going anywhere,” they vowed. _ )

Jesse blinked and Hondo was tapping their head, saying he was done. They slowly felt along the top of their head, where their thick curls were gathered into a very neat style. 

“I did a Dutch braid for you, all that hair needs somewhere to go, yes?” Jesse felt strangely choked up. 

“Thank you,” they stood up and faced the older pirate, at a loss for words. 

“Any time, young friend, any time,” his own face mirrored Jesse’s sadness. “I miss having my crew to practice on.”

“It’s not the same, is it,” Jesse didn’t know what happened with Hondo’s crew, but they did know loss. 

“No, it’s not the same. When my base was destroyed without warning, I was so sad. Always so sad. Say,” he perked up. “Would you care to hear about how I captured Kenobi the third time?”

“I would love that,” Jesse knew that his little sister held all her memories of the general’s close to her heart. What happened destroyed the family she had. Jesse would never stop mourning the way her life had changed. Leaving the order and her men was one thing, but coming back only to see them wiped out? They couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain she was feeling. They tried to keep her close to support her, but Jesse had a feeling that they just couldn’t help her through that pain. If they could gather some new stories for her, they might be able to ease some of her pain. 

Rex watched Ahsoka pace around the small kitchen, rubbing a hand along her chin in deep thought. He snorted and took another bite of his ration bar. Did she even know she was mimicking Kenobi? Or did she absorb it from spending so many long hours by his side, just like Rex had perfected his kicking technique from watching Cody? 

He sat silently and watched as she opened every drawer and cupboard one after another, looking for what he had no idea. But he did know it was entertaining. She had just taken a can out of a drawer and set it beside her little growing pile when Rahi rolled up to him. 

The droid let out a questioning whir.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s she’s doing,” he leaned in close to stage-whisper, “Maybe she finally lost her last marble.” Rahi beeped in amusement as Ahsoka frowned at him.

“I heard you,” she pointed at him. 

“I know!” He responded cheerfully and went back to his bar. “What are you doing anyway?”

“I’m gathering ingredients,” she lifted up her nose and turned her back to him, going back to her task of rummaging around in the kitchen. 

“Yeah I can see that,” Rex tilted his head as she made a triumphant noise. Ahsoka straightened up and waved a package in his direction. He squinted and thought he saw the aurebesh for ‘Space Crackers-for when you’re hungry, in space!’ 

“Why are you doing that?” 

“Be _ cause _ , Rex, I’m going to cook.”

Rex laughed at that. Cook! Good one. “You don’t know how to cook, though,” Rex crumpled up his empty ration bar wrapping and tossed it aside. “None of us do.” Rahi chirped in agreement. 

Rex held a hand out for a high-five and Rahi swung out with his little arm. Ahsoka did not look impressed. 

“I can learn. Master Obi-Wan always said-”

“Oh, here we go!” Rex tossed his hands up good-naturedly. 

“What? What’s wrong with Master Obi-Wan?”

“No, nothing, nothing. It’s just that I remember a certain ‘recipe’ from Kenobi that ended with a fire and us needing to evacuate the ship while smoke bled from all the openings,” Rex shook his head and wagged a finger at her. “You’re good at a lot of things, vod’ika, but cooking is not one of them.”

Ahsoka gasped in outrage and crossed her arms. “I can learn!”

“Sure, but maybe  _ not  _ when we’re in hyperspace and unable to land for a few hours? Besides,” he continued, reclining in his seat and smirking at the irritated look in her eyes. “Chewbacca did just change the air filters.”

“That’s it!” Ahsoka lunged at him, arms outstretched and teeth bared. Rex barely managed to scramble out of the way in time, almost falling over Rahi in the process. 

She paused on the bench, crouching like she was about to pounce on him as he quickly circled around to put Rahi in between them. Her eyes flicked down to check on the R4 and that’s when Rex made his move. He turned tail and sprinted into the cargo hold, hoping to make it up the stairs and into his room before she caught him. Rex’s lock was foolproof, but looks like that wouldn’t work. 

His little sister caught him right as he was going up the ramp, leaping from the entry to hang off his back. 

“Got you!” Her voice was gleeful. 

“Not yet,” he muttered. Ahsoka wasn’t light by any means, but Rex was strong enough to carry her easily. She was practically the same as a regular kit, not counting the extra ARC gear. 

So when he fell, he did it because he wanted to throw her off her game. He released the rungs in his hands and let his body tilt backwards. 

Ahsoka squealed and shoved off of his back, tumbling head over heels as he landed in a crouch. She laughed and sprang up, arms at the ready. Rex grinned and made a ‘come at me’ gesture that had her zipping into his space to land a series of soft blows against his head. 

His arms blocked each of the hits and he danced backwards before moving in with his own punches. 

She spun to avoid the last hit and moved exactly where he wanted her. When she was halfway spun around he grabbed her shoulders and wrestled her to the ground. Without missing a beat she got ahold of his arms and flipped them so he was lying in front of her, his upper body trapped. He struggled for a moment before giving up, tapping her forearm to signal his yield. 

“You’ve gotten sloppy in your old age,” the young togruta flopped down beside him, both of them breathing hard after the impromptu spar. 

“You’ve got more years on me, what does that make you?” He ribbed back, reaching out to punch her in the arm. “Nice work kid.”

“Whatever,” she muttered, and he knew she was embarrassed. The Jedi used to be...weird about affection. Every now and then he felt like she was the same as when he met her, just a kid with spaghetti arms and a severe lack of armour. 

“I’m serious, you’ve really grown up, I’m proud of you,” he meant it. Watching her grow up, it was one of the greatest joys of his life. He might have had a million younger siblings, but Ahsoka was special. Maybe because she wasn’t as hardened as the clones were, maybe because she was his first sister (it took several months into the war for any of the vode to feel comfortable expressing their gender identities, so even though he had sisters before meeting Ahsoka, he didn’t really know it). 

Heck, maybe it was because her first mission caused her to be so dehydrated she ended up in the medbay for her first week aboard the Resolute. 

“Man, I could sleep right now,” he felt Ahsoka roll onto her side, her back brushing against his shoulder. “I know it’s morning ship-time, but I’m exhausted.” She spoke through a yawn. 

Rex reached over to pat her shoulder. “You should go to your cabin, don’t want to wake up more sore than when you fell asleep.”

“Yeah,” she sounded sad. 

“What’s wrong, kid?” Rex propped himself up and looked down at his sister. 

“I just...I really need Hondo to come through for us,” she closed her eyes. “If he knows what I think he does, we might have a shot at finding Cody.”

His heart beat faster at the thought of being able to hold his brother again. He’d give anything for a Cody hug. The command class were usually slightly broader than the average clone, which made them able to wrap their trooper class siblings up in a way that made Rex feel safe. He missed not being the one in charge. Officially, Ahsoka was their leader. But unofficially, well. Rex felt responsible for their aliit. 

“Listen, whatever happens, we’ll be okay. You, me, Jess and Rahi,” he sat up fully and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’re aliit, we’ll support each other through whatever we find.” 

Rex paused. “I want to find Cody more than anyone, but the Empire is the biggest enemy we’ve faced yet.”

“When I pictured the end of the war, this wasn’t where I thought I would be,” she admitted. 

“Tatooine?” He teased, accepting the flick to his arm in retaliation. 

“I always thought Anakin would leave the order, go live with Padme on Naboo. He wanted kids, I know he did. I thought that no matter where I went, he’d always be there for me to go home to,” she sighed. “I wanted to help Master Obi-Wan with the relief efforts, we talked about it all the time. He could have taken over my training when Anakin left.” 

“You’d be a good fit.”

“And Cody would have stayed with me and Master Obi-Wan, he would be there for us to bounce ideas off of.”

“Yeah, he’d never have left Kenobi’s side,”  _ and I wouldn’t leave yours _ , he wanted to say. It was different, what Cdy felt for his general and what Rex felt for his kih’vod. But it was no less strong. 

“I figured you’d be around too. On my days off we could watch Anakin’s kids together, maybe even get you some Beskar. There would be a huge family, all the Jedi and all the clones. It would have been so  _ good _ , Rex. But then they kicked me out of the order, and the temple wasn’t home anymore, and I wasn’t part of the GAR so staying with you wasn’t an option. When I got you back I thought we were okay, and then you-”

Rex’s heart stopped, that day was seared into his brain. When he was under the chip, he pulled his weapons on her, his own sister. 

“I know it wasn’t you, I  _ know _ you would never do that-but. My family went from thousands to a handful in minutes.”

She was openly crying now, and Rex was blinking away his own tears. He leaned against the ladder and pulled her into his arms. 

“The Jedi had their flaws, but they were  _ good _ and they cared so much. We were spread too thin during the war, we let ourselves become weapons, not peacekeepers,” she wiped her face. “I don’t regret serving with you, meeting the vode, but what were we fighting for?”

“I love you, you’re my aliit, and I don’t know what I would do without you,” she tucked her head into his neck. “I miss the way things used to be. I miss waking up and knowing what my job was. I miss going to the mess hall for caf and having any number of brothers to turn to. I just-” she hiccupped. “I miss them, all the time. And I didn’t even know everyone from the 501st. I ache, all the time. He killed our vode, Rex, all of them.”

Rex let his cheek rest on her head as she jumbled up her words. It was like she had so much to say, but didn’t quite know how. He swallowed past the thickness in his throat and tried to come up with words that weren’t hollow. 

“Kid, what the Sith lord did to us, all of us, it’s not on you,” he rubbed circles into her back. “It hurts like hell, but we can’t change it.”

Tears were streaming down his face onto her montrals, but she didn’t move an inch. 

“We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We have to work towards a better galaxy. We feel it-the pain, the betrayal, wanting to have what we lost back, but we keep going. It’s the only thing we  _ can _ do.”   
Ahsoka sniffled and raised her head. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were puffy, but despite her sadness he could see the beskar core she’d held within her from day one. 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” her voice was watery and shaky, but the tears were finally over. 

Rex hugged her tighter to his chest. “Me neither, kid.”

Rex held her close as she cried, his arms a comforting reminder that despite all she had lost, she was not alone. And she would never be alone if she could help it. She wasn’t hardwired to fly solo, she needed the whole crew. 

When the tears finally stopped and her body stopped shivering, when she could see again and breathe without choking on her sobs, Rex let her go. 

How do you come back after breaking down like that? Hey, thanks for letting me use your shoulder as a snot rag, hope you don’t mind changing? She pushed herself up and wiped her eyes for the final time, blinking against the headache pounding against her skull. Ahsoka looked at Rex and tried to find words big enough to get her feelings across. 

“Rex, I…” 

“I know, kid. I know,” Rex reached out and wiped her cheek with his sleeve. “Now go get yourself a nap, there’s still plenty of time before we drop out of hyperspace.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to Tatooine of all places. Anakin never spoke to me about his childhood, but I know it was horrible,” Ahsoka shook her head. “I never thought I’d go back there, at least not without Anakin.”

“Nah, he’d never go back,” Rex stood up and stretched out. “He hated sand too much. It’s coarse, irritating, and-”

“It gets everywhere,” they finished together with a grin. 

One more hug later and she was laying down on her bed, letting herself sink deep into a dreamless sleep. When she opened her eyes again, it was to Rahi beeping at her. 

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” she rubbed her eyes, wincing at how puffy they were. 

The R4 unit wiggled back and forth, clearly impatient for her to get a move on. 

“Why don’t you go ahead and prepare the landing gears. We’ll probably be setting down in the middle of a desert, I want to make sure it’s as smooth a landing as we can get it,” Rahi chirped at her and spun in one of his circles. “Yes, we  _ are _ lucky that Chewbacca fixed them up for us.”

The droid followed her as she left the cabin. He whirred at her teasingly before fleeing down the corridor.

“Hey, I’m plenty good at fixing things!” She yelled after him. “I fixed you, didn’t I?”

She shook her head and let a fond smile drift across her face. Not a day went by where she didn’t thank the Force for her little friend. Walking back into her room, she decided to grab her lightsaber and hook it to her belt. 

Ahsoka paused. Maybe she should...no. She moved to the doorway but stopped before leaving. A sigh escaped her lips before she turned back to her drawer and dug out the small bundle she’d had since they crashed. She decisively tucked the bundle into a pocket on her belt before leaving her room for the last time and making her way back to the cockpit. 

There was still some time before they were set to drop out of hyperspace, so she spent the time in idle conversation with Hondo and Jesse. They joked about Tatooine being a hub of scum and villainy, though Hondo made some obscure comment about it being a “legacy planet” as his eyes gleamed at her. She’d have to look up what he meant by that phrase, any questions she asked were brushed aside with a smile. 

Tatooine was easier to land on than Kashyyyk was, the Empire presence was practically nonexistent. They didn’t catch even a whiff of them as they passed high over Mos Eisley.

“Hondo, are you sure these coordinates you gave us were right? This is taking us into the canyons,” Jesse leaned into the map and frowned. 

“Yes! Keep going, young friends, we are almost there.”

The safest approach was probably to land the ship a klick away from the actual area, they didn’t want to ruin their chances with the next link in the chain before they even met them. Her montrals prickled slightly as she set the Echoy’la down gently, testing the ground before she cut the engines completely. Normally they’d keep them running, but on a desert planet you ran the risk of overheating the atmo thrusters, and then you were hooped, unless you happened to know a good mechanic on-planet. And they did not. 

“Alright, someone needs to stay with the ship,” she turned to her alitt and crossed her arms. 

Rahi immediately volunteered, chirping something about sand in his gears, no thank you.

She watched as Jesse and Rex battled it out silently. Rex was better at sparring and brute force, but Jesse was great at stealth. Every part of the team was well aware of their strengths, which was why Jesse grumbled and agreed to stay. 

“Maybe I can get some information from the planet’s holonet,” Jesse nodded thoughtfully, their eyes already spaced out, likely running code in their head. 

Ahsoka and Rex moved into the cargo hold, pulling out their ready-made day packs, but adding in a few extra water rations. She tossed another one at Hondo as Rex spoke to Jesse and Rahi quietly. The pirate tried to weasel his way out of carrying a pack, citing his old, frail bones as an excuse, but Ahsoka didn’t fall for it. 

They set out just as the two suns were dipping down past the horizon. 

No planet existed that was more opposite to Kashyyyk. Where there had been towering trees and green in every direction on the wookiee homeworld, here there lay nothing but sand. Sand and rock as far as the eye could see. Entering the canyons cut her visibility down by half, but it wasn’t as if it was going to look drastically different anywhere on the planet. 

She was starting to remember why her old master hated desert planets so much. 

The group was making great progress, they must have been only a few minutes out when the ground shook beneath them and a hollow, echoing cry reverberated off the walls of the canyons, seeming to stretch on for eternity. They were thrown to the ground as the tremors increased, and it was all Ahsoka could do to protect her head. On her way down she saw Rex try and grab a pillar only for it to split in two. 

As the world turned upside down, she noticed Hondo curled up in a ball. But the most bizarre thing was happening.

The weequay was laughing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading! Sometimes when I'm feeling sad I go and look at how many people are subscribed to this and I just *cries* I appreciate it so much that other people care about this story like I do! I would love to hear your guys' thoughts, or predictions, or anything! You can find me on tumblr dot com @ corranblue for my writing, or corranshome if you want to see what I'm up to when I'm not obsessing over this story 😂 I hope you all are staying safe and wearing your masks!


	9. A wild krayt dragon appears!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew arrive on Tatooine, who *will* they find next? (cue clown music)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since an update! Life has been, well you know. I've been at home since March and I think it's starting to wear on me. I hope everyone is staying safe and wearing their masks!   
> This isn't my favourite chapter, but at some point you just have to stop editing and chuck it into the void yeah? Anyways please enjoy! And thanks for sticking around :)

“What the kriff?” Rex figured his heart might quit on him and just explode from his chest. And while he’s trying to hang on to something, anything, as an earthquake ravages the land, that blasted pirate was laughing! As if this was some kind of joke, or weird planet hazing ritual. The shaking slowed down slightly, but the haunting bellows rattling the walls around them were getting louder. 

Rex didn’t know much about the species on this planet, but he did know that whatever it was on the other end of that sound he did  _ not _ want to meet it, especially with the suns going down. If this thing were coming out now, it would be nocturnal, which meant enhanced sight, possibly increased range of motion. Hell, from the sound of it the monster was probably massive to boot. 

He forced himself to his feet, loosening his stance to adjust for the quakes slamming the ground. Amidst the chaos, he found himself close to thanking the longneck scientists who decided enhanced balance was a route they should explore. 

Reaching Ahsoka just as another bellow ripped through the air, he grabbed the back of her hood and yanked her to her feet. Better a bruised ego than a bruised skull. He supported her as she got her bearings, and then shouted at her.

“Let’s grab the weequay and find a cave!” She nodded at him and they stumbled over to the ball that was the hysterical Hondo, and Rex simply reached down and hauled him across the sandy floor. No way was this man keeping his legs under him with these tremors. 

If they could just get to a cave, they might be able to defend themselves, or better yet the creature might be too big to fit in with them. He prayed to the gods that luck would be on their side for once. 

“Over there!” Ahsoka pointed to his left and he instantly started moving them towards the opening she found. They had to pause a few times to catch their feet, and each time the bellows echoed louder and louder, until he felt they couldn’t possibly be any closer. 

Not a second after they reached the cave the earthquakes stopped and the cries faded away. He could still pick up the echoes of the monster as they travelled the canyon walls, but as far as he could tell, the creature was silent. 

His gaze snapped to Ahsoka and he signed  _ pincer tactic _ . She nodded gravely, and he quickly dumped the now-silent pirate behind him, glaring at him with enough force to harm. (It was the only glare strong enough to silence Fives when he really got going.) He and Ahsoka arranged themselves on either side of a pillar in the center of the room, weapons raised and ready to use. 

Time stood still as every inhale brought more of the dust into his lungs. He resisted the urge to fix his bandanna, which had shaken loose around his neck in the panic to find shelter. Beads of sweat formed and rolled down his neck and every sense was concentrated on the entryway. Each moment stretched into a thousand until Rex felt he might die before the being could kill him. Ahsoka shifted beside him, and he knew two facts. 

First, she was going to go investigate outside the cave. Second, he couldn’t let her out of his sight. 

He felt her eyes on him, but he stubbornly ignored her and refused to let her sign her intentions. She huffed and stepped forward, and before Rex could react, she was slinking along the edge of the space with all the grace of a lethal predator. He gulped when she paused just at the edge, shaking his head and her and gesturing for her to return. She blinked at him and signed  _ stay put _ before stepping out into the darkness. 

Ahsoka didn’t have great night vision, but she usually had enough to get by. Her montrals extended her senses and gave her a leg up on Rex in cases like this. She knew her ori’vod was cursing her to Dathomir and back, but using her as a scout made the most sense right now. If Rex used his tactical brain and not his ori'vod brain he'd be a lot calmer. 

When nothing was readily apparent, she let herself relax slightly and take a deep breath. They had to get moving again as soon as possible, what if the creature that was causing the tremors (she was almost certain it was a greater krayt dragon, the call was hauntingly familiar to the one Anakin played for her one of the rare occasions when he would talk about his homeworld), what if it found their person? She couldn’t let that happen, she was too close to miss out on a chance to get to Hondo's contact.

“For a being shielded so well in the Force, you project your thoughts loud enough to deafen.”

She dropped to the ground at the sound of a voice and tried to mentally shore up her shields. It didn't feel as effective without the Force. She wondered if she could pass for a shadow, like Master Obi-Wan’s friend Vos showed her once. 

Ahsoka shook her head, that was not what was important right now. There was a threat, likely a Force user, somewhere in this canyon with her. She couldn’t let them reach her vod. 

“Keep thinking so loudly and I’ll find you in half the time, dear.”

The voice was hoarse and lilting, with just a hint of a familiar accent. She held her breath and waited. All the echoes were making it hard to pinpoint where exactly the speaker was. All she needed was another movement, and she could-there! Her montrals alerted her to a shuffle ahead and to her right. They must be down the short ravine she saw when they were making their way into the cave. She took a moment to pause and calm her mind, before she leapt from her rock and down onto the mysterious figure below. 

In the briefest moment, she registered the familiar thrum of a lightsaber igniting and managed to get her own up in time to block what would have been a head-removing stroke. 

Shock forced her body to freeze as the two blue blades crossed in the dark shadows of the caverns and she looked deep into the eyes of a man she long thought dead. 

“Master?” Her voice cracked. The sharp eyes staring back at her widened, and in the glow from their weapons she thought she saw tears. 

“Ahsoka?” He stepped back, letting his blade fall to the side. “How?”

“But I saw you fall, I felt you cry out-you were falling!” She heard a distant rushing sound, which she faintly recognized as her blade. Why was it? Oh. 

Her hands were shaking. She still held the saber in two hands, ready to parry an attack any second. 

“I did,” he cleared his throat. “There was-there was a cliff.”

“You’re supposed to be dead!” She cried and tried to shake the tears from her eyes. “I felt you, you were hurting so badly, you should be dead.” She took one hand from her blade to swipe at her eyes, before moving it right back to keep her ready stance. 

“Dear one-”

“No! Don’t call me that, you’re not here,” she backed up against the wall. "This isn't you!"

He went to reach for her, but she was already scrambling up the pile of rocks, making a beeline for the cave where she left Rex. She could feel him running towards her, and she launched herself into his arms after turning off her saber. 

“Rex,” she sobbed. “This was a mistake.”

“What are you talking about? What happened? I heard your lightsaber and I came running,” he pulled back and grabbed her arms. “Ahsoka, what is it?”

“Rex?” His voice was behind her, he must have followed. Ahsoka shoved Rex behind her and ignited her blade again, facing the apparition. 

“Stay back!” She threatened, every fiber of her being poised to attack. The figure still had their own lightsaber drawn. If they were a threat, their weapon would be lowered, so she would keep hers ready. 

“Ahsoka, is that-” Rex sounded shell-shocked. 

“It can’t be, I felt him die, I felt him call out. No,” she spat. “This is not my master.”

“Ahsoka, wait-” he tried to step forward again, his voice was shattering.

“My grandmaster wouldn’t be _here_ , in the middle of a kriffing desert, when the vode are prisoners in their own minds!”

“Ahsoka, stop it,” Rex placed a hand on her shoulder. “This is isn’t helping.”

“No,” she said bitterly. “It isn’t.”

The man hung his lightsaber down at his hip, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He was close enough that she could see the dusting of white among his hair and the wrinkles that sat in deep lines around his face. She adjusted her grip, still trying to protect Rex from the person across from them. 

“He mentioned the Force, he must be using it to change what we’re seeing,” Ahsoka couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her body. “There’s no telling how powerful he is.”

“Ahsoka, I don’t think-”

At that moment Hondo’s voice rang out into the canyon, whooping in joy. 

“Kenobi!” The pirate strolled in front of Ahsoka, seeming to give her drawn weapon a rude look before moving to the man. He held his arms out wide before pulling him into a hug. 

The man had to hold his blade at a weird angle to keep from impaling the pirate. The awkwardness of the one-sided hug was so at odds with her perception of the situation that she let her own blade fall. 

“Ahsoka, I think that’s General Kenobi,” Rex’s grip was a vice on her shoulder, but she couldn’t feel it past the shock flooding her system. 

She watched numbly as the pirate pulled away and waved his arms while telling a story. But he kept his eyes on her as the weequay rambled on. 

“And as you can see, Kenobi, I kept my word!” This, finally, was enough to pull his attention away from her. When his mournful eyes looked away she could breathe again. Rex was probably crying from the small noises he was making, and she wanted to comfort him, but she couldn’t move. 

“You swore to keep my location secret, I’d hardly say this is doing that,” his eyes flicked back to her for a moment. “But I can’t say I’m overly upset with you.”

“Ah ah ah! I swore to  _ tell _ no one what I knew, I didn’t say a thing about bringing people!” Hondo sounded so pleased with himself. “Now, lead us to your little hut, I’m famished!”

“Do you even know what that word means?” He sounded amused. Rex was sobbing, and she had the strangest feeling that she was dying. Her head was somewhere else, it was floating away...

He pushed in front of Hondo and walked towards her and Rex. He was hesitant, careful, moving slowly like she was a wild animal that could strike at any moment. 

“Ahsoka?” Master Obi-Wan was standing in front of her, a little older, a little sadder than when she’d seen him last, but still alive. 

“Master!” She flung her arms around him, turning her lightsaber off and flinging it to the ground. She pulled him close to her until their chests were pressed together hard enough to feel his heartbeat in her chest. 

“It’s really you?”

“It’s really me, dear one.”

“You aren't a hallucination?” She grabbed at his familiar robes, shaking apart in his arms.

“You’re awake,” his voice was thick with emotion. “I’m here, young one.”

“I thought I felt you die, you fell off a cliff,” she closed her eyes. “It was all so much, all at once.”

“I had to get off the planet, Cody shot me off the cliff,” she felt him shudder against her. “I don’t know why-he cut me off. I had to leave.”

Master Obi-Wan pulled away from the hug, but kept his hands on her shoulders. “By the time I had a moment to think, you were gone.”

“I-” she stopped. This wasn’t the time. 

“General,” Rex stepped forward, and Obi-Wan turned to face him with a bitter smile. “It’s good to see you well, sir.”

Rex extended a hand, and Obi-Wan released her to shake it. Rex went to back up again but Obi-Wan used it as leverage to propel him into a hug of his own. Rex tensed up for a moment, but then he let himself sink into the embrace. After Kadavo, her ori’vod and her master had developed a special bond she had no way of understanding. 

“Rex, I never thought I’d live to see the day when a clone smiled at me again,” Obi-Wan brushed a hand over his cheek. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad it’s you.”

Rex let himself sink into the warmth exuding from his old friend, but when he said that it was like a bucket of ice water dumper over him. 

“Sir?” 

“You must have heard,” the Jedi’s brows furrowed and elongated the already ridiculous shadows on his face. He absently noted that they should find shelter for the night. Triple moonlight only lit up the canyon so much. 

“Heard what?” Rex looked to Ahsoka for guidance, but the darkness was too complete for him to get a solid reading on her. 

“Perhaps we should save this talk for the morning. It’s no good to dwell on evil when the shadows are out. I take it you came in on a ship?” Rex nodded, bewildered by the change in topic. 

“Jesse and Rahi are with the Echoy’la about a klick out.”

“Good,” he rattled off a string of coordinates. “Have them park the ship there, it’s much closer to my home. There’s good coverage in the cave, you won’t be detectable from any overhead scanners should they search the desert. I’m afraid I want to keep my little home out of the public eye.”

They arranged for Jesse to meet them at the listed area, they were almost hysterical when they heard Hondo led them to Kenobi. Rex could hear poor Rahi screaming at them in the background. The little droid had only worked on the Resolute a few months before the order went through, he hadn’t ever crossed paths with the Jedi master. 

Once the details were all sorted, Kenobi started leading them to his home. Hondo filled the gaping silence with all his incredible conquests from the time he’d last seen the Jedi. His recounting of the Echoy’la and her crew picking him up was distinctly embellished and involved more fighting on Hondo’s part than Rex remembered. 

Rex was about to protest Hondo’s description of his escape pod as falling apart at the seams when he caught Kenobi’s eye. The Jedi winked at him, as if he could sense Rex’s exasperation at the pirate. The man's jetii magic tricks were still working then. 

“That must have been quite the ship, Hondo. I’m glad you’re alright,” he said blandly as he picked his way among the rocks. “I’m afraid your stories will need to pause for the moment, we have arrived. He held his lightsaber up and the light showed a doorway carved into the rock, covered by a sturdy wooden door. 

“Welcome to my humble abode.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: Tatooine  
> You guys: Obi-Wan?? Obi-Wan???   
> That's the problem when everyone knows the universe so well!! Honestly it's so fun reading people's comments, I'm sorry if I don't respond to them all but I truly appreciate every single one <3  
> Thanks so much for reading!


	10. Reunion part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahsoka and Obi-Wan finally talk. She learns about Anakin, and he learns about the chips...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry I missed updating this Tuesday, it's crunch time at school for me, all the final projects are due right away. Still I'm pretty excited about where we're getting! There's a lot of practical/logistics type stuff coming up in the travel chunk of the story, so I might stick to once a week updates to try and make everything as good as possible! I am a few chapters ahead, but who knows how the finals season will be! I hope everyone is staying safe out there. May the Force be with you

Ahsoka was going to spend the night in Obi-Wan’s house while her vode went back to the ship. Rex didn’t want to leave her, especially not with some mystery monster roaming around, but Obi-Wan confessed to imitating the krayt. 

“The locals know there’s a hermit out here, but they think this particular area is home to a large dragon. It comes in handy for keeping away unwanted guests.”

Jesse also didn’t want her separated from them, but they knew she and her grandmaster had much to discuss. 

They spent much of their time in silence, both simply happy to be together again after the initial denial. When at last her grandmaster did go to sleep, she wandered around examining the various trinkets scattered about the place. The Jedi Master had amassed quite the collection of things. 

Part of her wanted to resent him for not letting her talk, but mostly Ahsoka just understood why he wanted to wait. Some things were best said under sunlight. If Obi-Wan wanted to put off the pain for one more evening, who was she to fault him for it?

So she let herself fall asleep sitting on the floor, leaning up against the wall. Going into the room Obi-Wan offered her felt wrong, not that she could pinpoint why exactly. Before she drifted off, she found herself missing Anakin with all her heart. If he were here, he’d know how to get Obi-Wan to listen. If he were here, it wouldn’t feel so off balance. 

The last thought she had before sinking into sleep was wondering if her grandmaster felt the same way about Commander Cody. 

When the light from the suns began to filter into Obi-Wan’s little home, Ahsoka opened her eyes and sat forward. It was time to talk. 

“I see you’re finally awake,” Obi-Wan’s voice drifted over to her, and she spotted him in a meditation pose on the other side of the living room. His eyes were closed like he had just emerged from a meditation, and he looked so peaceful. The desert hadn’t been kind to him, but at least he looked like he was consistently getting enough sleep now. Looking at him now, you wouldn’t think a group of ghosts from the past had just invaded his quiet life. 

She clambered to her feet and moved to sit beside him, slumping against his shoulder like she used to before early-morning bridge meetings on the days when her body wanted to be doing absolutely anything but be awake. 

He shifted slightly to accommodate her weight, and she let out a sigh of relief. There was a second where she thought he might not want her there, so short she almost didn’t fully feel the discomfort. 

“So I suppose it’s time we talked,” he began. “I should start. It isn’t going to be easy, young one.”

“I know, and I’m ready. I have so many questions, for years we haven’t known what went wrong that day,” she nervously grabbed a montral. “Rex told me how close the end of the war was, how could it all go so wrong?”

He told her about Utapau and killing Greivous, and from his description she came to realize he knew nothing about the chips. His voice cracked in half along with Ahsoka’s heart when he described Cody handing him his lightsaber moments before ordering their men to shoot him off a cliff, old pain echoing in his words. Before she could even try to explain the chips he was moving on to the temple, and then she was without words. 

The halls of their old home strewn with bodies of their family, their children. A lifetime wouldn’t be long enough to control that pain. She was suddenly so glad she wasn’t with either of her masters that day. If she had seen what Obi-Wan had seen, knowing it was the 501st? She might not have made it off the planet. 

And the horror didn’t stop, he just kept going, saying more things about Padmé, who Ahsoka already knew had died, but talking about kids,  _ twins.  _ He told her about sending a message to stay away from the temple and about trying to gather as many history tomes as he could fit in his pockets before leaving the temple to meet Bail and Yoda. His words floated along the air and painted a picture so strong it was like she had been there with him. 

Ahsoka had always known her grandmaster felt the world deeply, but she didn’t understand how much it affected him until he was speaking words of remembrance for all the family he lost that day, a gentle smile pulling at his mouth while untold sorrow swam in his eyes. 

He paused in his telling and looked at her. Her montrals pulsed warily. There was something else he wasn’t saying.

“What aren’t you telling me?” She was sitting across from him by now, supporting herself with the wall. Her grief felt too heavy to hold up alone, and Force knew Master Obi-Wan didn’t need any more burdens to carry. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard of the Emperor's apprentice by now,” he was watching her with sad eyes, and bile rose in the back of her throat. 

“Vader,” she stated. “I can’t understand why we never saw him during the war. Did Palpatine recruit him after Dooku died? The timing never felt right to me. The Empire started putting out propaganda with Vader just days after Dooku fell. If he was an apprentice for such a short time, how was he so skilled with the Force? That kind of power takes years to hone.” Obi-Wan brought a hand to cover the lower part of his face and she felt her heart leap into her throat. “What do you know about him?”

“Ahsoka, Vader is-how do I say this to you?” He opened his eyes and shook his head slightly. “Vader is Anakin, Ahsoka. Anakin Fell. We fought on Mustafar. He was choking Padmé and I had to...he wouldn’t stop.”

“No,” she shut her eyes, as if by doing so she could shut out the words she was hearing. “No, he wouldn’t. Anakin loved Padmé! He never said anything, but you could always tell by how his Force signature lit up when he talked about her. He would never do anything to hurt her! That isn’t the Anakin I know.”

“There’s more,” how could there be more than this? There was enough heartbreak to last for lifetimes. “The younglings, they weren’t killed by blasters. It wasn’t the clones.”

It took her a moment to understand what he was telling her. A cold feeling swept over her, like a heavy blanket of snow settling over her head, muting the sound around her. 

“No, that’s-he wouldn’t. Anakin loved the younglings! He always took me to teach classes to them, he would never do something like this, he wouldn’t! You’re wrong, you have to be wrong,” bile rose in her throat and she felt like she was going to be sick. 

“I’ve been wrong before,” he nodded. “I was wrong about Cody, our men. Dear one, as much as I wish I were wrong about this, I am not.”

Her head shot up. “Oh Master, there’s something you need to know.”

“Chips?” Kenobi burst into his room. Rex groaned and rolled over to face the Jedi who was pacing his room. 

“Me’bana?” It was too kriffing early for this. It was hardly sunsrise. 

“They put chips in your heads?” Kenobi came over and sat on the edge of his bed. “Captain, I’m so sorry. I should have acted on your suspicions after what happened to Fives. We failed you.”

Rex sat up and the sheets covering him pooled around his waist as he leaned against the wall. “No, general. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t any of our fault,” and didn’t he spend his whole day trying to remember that. Pointing his blasters at Ahsoka had sure  _ felt _ like his fault. “It was that blasted Sith. There was nothing more we could have done.”

“Thank you, captain, but we both know that’s not quite the truth.”

They sat in silence for a while. 

“Ahsoka cut herself off from the Force,” it wasn’t a question. Rex nodded. 

“The day the order went out, it was really rough for her. She tell you my chip went live when it happened?” Kenobi shook his head, of course she hadn’t told him. “She had to knock me out to remove it. Thanks to her, I’m still here. We managed to pull Jesse out of the wreck when our ship went down, but there was no one else to save.”

He grabbed Kenobi’s arm. “Kenobi, I didn’t _want_ to shoot Ahsoka, I would never turn on my commander, my sister. And Cody didn’t want to turn on you either. He-well. You know how he felt, and if it was anything like what happened with me he would’ve been fighting like hell to break through the damn thing.”

Kenobi leaned into his touch. “I thought he cut me off, when it happened, I thought he broke our bond.”

“Your bond?” Rex questioned hesitantly. “What do you mean? Sir.”

“I think you can stop with the sirs, Rex. We’re not in the GAR anymore,” Kenobi looked thoughtful. “Our Force bond, I thought he cut it. One moment I could feel his amusement, he had just handed me my saber back, he gave me one of his beautiful smiles, the real ones. He actually laughed at me after I made some silly quip about my life in his hands again and he shook his head, sent me off on Bogi, and the next moment nothing. Not even a whisper. Next thing I knew I was falling.”

“Could the chip do that? Could it break the bond for you?” 

“I don’t think so, Force bonds are quite resistant to outside interference,” the general sounded like he was on another planet and not sitting beside Rex. 

“But this isn’t outside interference, it’s in his head,” Rex pointed out.

“I’m not sure I explained it accurately. Outside the bond is everything that  _ isn’t  _ the people who formed it. So for our bond it would be myself and Cody, nothing bar the two of us could break it other than death. Well, I suppose there are rumours of an ancient Sith ritual that could dissolve our-” A well-timed cough from Rex had Kenobi startling and giving Rex a sheepish smile. “I believe I was getting off topic. An implanted chip certainly wouldn’t be able to cut off our connection. Inside him as it might be, it is not him,” suddenly Kenobi snapped his gaze back to Rex with an intensity to rival the twin suns. “Rex, I need you to tell me exactly what it was like for you when your chip activated. I might have an idea.”

“Uh, okay. Well, I was called into a holocall, so I entered the room. I was facing the Chancellor, he called our command unit. It was strange, the highest up we’d normally get orders from would be your council. I was staring at the Chancellor one moment and the next, it was like something was trying to push me out of my own mind. It was horrifying,” Rex shuddered. “I still have nightmares. It was all I could do to tell Ahsoka to find Fives, my arms were moving and drawing my blasters on her and I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t stop them, I-I think the only reason I could even manage that much was because I knew what was happening when the chip went off. Not the details, nothing like what we know now, but. It was more than the rest of the vode had. I-it’s a bit of a blur after that.”

Rex was quiet for a moment, but he could feel Kenobi watching him closely so he continued.

“It was like I was watching everything happen from above? I couldn’t say what I wanted, I couldn’t make myself move. Once the chip took over, it was like I was gone. I was still in there, but I wasn’t the active one anymore, I-”

“Rex! You’re a genius, I think I know what to-I think I can-!” Kenobi tried to speak so fast all his words were getting jumbled. 

“Kenobi, slow down,” Rex realized he was still holding the Jedi’s arm and dropped it. “What did you realize?”

“You said you weren’t the active one in your mind, when the chip went off?” Rex slowly nodded. “What if the reason I wasn’t able to feel Cody was because there was nothing to feel? You said you could only get past the chip because you knew what you were fighting, but Cody had no idea. Did you ever talk to him about Fives?” 

“No, only the overseer when I filed that report. And Skywalker knew, obviously,” Rex swallowed. “So you think you might be able to find him?” 

“I hope so, I really hope so.”

It took Kenobi several hours of meditation and no few frustrated breaks to center his mind, but after a long day of Ahsoka catching them all up on Kenobi’s experience three years ago, the former general opened his eyes and had the name of a planet. 

Ahsoka had Rahi pull up a starmap on the table and search for Voluntas. Inside his head Rex thanked the little gods that Hondo decided to “borrow” Kenobi’s speeder a few hours into the meditation to go in search of gambling. He promised to be back the next day, but none of them were holding him to it. 

“That’s on the other side of the galaxy!” Jesse exclaimed. 

“It’s not a planet either,” Rex bumped his shoulder against Kenobi’s, who was also leaning in to see. He noted how Kenobi flinched a bit. He’d have to be more careful in the future, Kenobi clearly had some kind of trauma response to contact with clones. With any luck being around Rex and Jesse would help mend his mind, preferably before they returned with Cody. 

“It’s a moon,” Ahsoka spun the chart to see the planet better. “Pretty small too. I wish it was closer.”

“No one said he would be nearby,” Rex was too relieved to be worried. When Kenobi was deep in meditation, the back of his mind kept whispering that his brother would be dead. That after all these years of searching, all the time they spent seeking him out, he would be marching on. 

It was selfish of him to wish Cody was still alive, he knew that. Rex was only under the chip for maybe twenty minutes and it felt like he was going insane, he couldn't imagine what years under the chip would feel like, especially with not knowing what was going on. It would be more peaceful for Cody if he was marching on. 

“Yes, but there’s the Triellus Trade Route that takes us right to its front door, or at least, close enough,” Kenobi traced a line from Tatooine along the outskirts of the Outer Rim, and left his hand pointing at a single small dot. 

“Isn’t that mostly a spice smuggling route?” Ahsoka frowned. 

“It’s not like we have many options, my dear. You can’t go anywhere near the Core, the Empire’s presence is far too heavy, and they haven’t forgotten the faces of their clone army easily. All the promotional material the Chancellor made us do is really making us pay now.”

“Us? You’re perfectly safe here. There’s only that token outpost in Mos Eisley, and they don’t know their bucket from their boot,” Rex tilted his head. Ahsoka told them why he was here on Tatooine. Skywalkers kid was worth risking it all for, but the general had the perfect plan: hide out on a sandy planet that his Jedi would never set foot on again.

“I’m coming with you.”

“All due respect sir, you can’t leave the kid. He needs you,” Rex put on his best glower (Fives used to call it his Captain Face), the galaxy couldn’t fail another Skywalker. Not like they’d failed Anakin.

“Luke isn’t old enough to do anything with the Force except project a very strong sensation of brightness. He won’t be showing up on Vader’s radar for many years. I thought you of all people would understand, Rex. I can’t give up on Cody. Not again,” Kenobi met his strong gaze with a glare of his own.

“Atin,” Rex hissed. 

“Maybe,” Kenobi agreed and looked at Ahsoka. “But we all know I’m right. You’re going to need me. Besides, it’s been far too long since I’ve fought something that wasn’t my garden.”

Kenobi sent the group a vicious smile. “But before we leave, there are a few things we still need to do.” 

Rahi bonked into Rex’s legs and beeped quietly at him. 

“You’ll be fine, beskar’ad’ika,” Rex lightly punched his leg. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mean you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beskar'ad means droid in mando'a, so beskar'ad'ika is little droid! Rahi is a wonderful little guy, and having a Jedi Master around intimidates him a bit, poor thing.  
> Voluntas is a random moon I made up. I'll post a map on my tumblr in the next few days showing whereabouts it is in the galaxy so you guys can have an idea, maybe some worldbuilding stuff too.  
> If the sources I looked through are correct, it should take the crew about 15 days of hyperspace travel along the Trellius route to reach the moon (not including any stops they may or may not have to take)


	11. Backtracking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse and Rex face the truth about Anakin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry it's been so long, it's been a,,,well. Terrible few weeks! This chapter is pretty heavy, but don't despair, there *is* some lighter stuff ahead. Thanks as always for reading, I hope everyone is hanging in there <3

It took Ahsoka a long time to finish talking, but when she did, all Jesse could think was how much older she seemed. 

They met Ahsoka not long after joining the 501st. She was like their mascot in a way. The troopers of their legion were so proud of her, so eager to introduce her to every vod they could. Jesse was able to watch her grow into herself and her role as the war went on. 

When introduced to new vode she no longer ducked her head shyly, she lifted her chin and challenged them to a duel. She found the confidence to speak up during strategy sessions when she felt she had a good point to make. 

And when she left the order (and by extension, her vode), she had to learn how to make her way in a galaxy that looked different on the other side of the war. Ahsoka came back from her time alone different, more independent. Jesse could plainly see the difference. 

Jesse knew they should probably be processing the news she just told them, but they couldn’t bring themself to think about it. They closed their eyes as Ahsoka walked away, and wished with all their heart that Kix was there with them. Kix would know what to do, what to say to comfort their obviously grieving and hurting sister. Kix always knew how to help. 

( _ Jesse smirked at Hardcase and kicked his bunk again, prompting the other clone to threaten them in no uncertain terms. Hardcase glared at them from under his blanket before firmly closing his eyes again. _ _   
_ _ If Hardcase wasn’t going to entertain them, they would just have to go elsewhere for attention. Jesse scrolled through the on-duty list, and noted with glee that Kix was almost done with his shift. They hopped down from the box they were sitting on and raced out of the barracks, narrowly avoiding crashing into the wall on their way out.  _

_ They sped down the halls of the Resolute, single-minded in their goal.  _

_ But they knew better than to burst into Kix’s domain like a womp rat out of the desert, so they made sure to slow down and take several calming breaths before pushing inside.  _

_ It always loosened something in Jesse’s chest to see rows of empty beds. Their legion was shipping out at the moment, so the medbay was home to only a few troopers, like the ones who overextended themselves in training, or the few who foolishly thought sparring with their general was a good idea.  _

_ Jesse homed in on Kix instantly, watching bandages soar over a stack of supply crates. They had to stop themself from skipping over to their brother.  _

_ “You’d better be here to help,” Kix grumbled at them, but flashed a grin to show he was joking. _

_ “I could hear your cries for help all the way in the barracks,” Jesse joked before bending down to gather up the thrown bandages. “Where do you want these?” _

_ “Carts,” Kix waved a hand and went back to sorting through the supply crate he was bent over. The clones weren’t small by any metric, but Kix was almost swallowed in the opening. Jesse left him to it and walked around the medbay, distributing bandages across the carts strewn about the place. They knew that in a few short days, having the supplies so close could be the difference between his siblings’ life or death.  _

_ They wandered back to Kix when they were finished. A quick glance at the time revealed Kix’s shift had ended ten standard minutes ago.  _

_ Jesse catalogued the tired slump of their brothers shoulders as he leaned against the now-empty crate, and the way his hair was a gentle fuzz that almost covered his tattoos.  _

_ “You’re due for a buzz soon,” Jesse murmured fondly as they plopped beside Kix. “I can grab the clippers after first meal?” _

_ “Sure,” Kix sounded tired, really tired. He’d been working hard the past week, getting everything ready. Medics, it seemed, never caught a break. If they weren’t saving lives, they were getting ready to save lives.  _

_ “C’mere,” Jesse reached out to tug Kix closer, until their shoulders were pressed tightly together and Kix’s head was resting against their shoulder instead of the crate. _

_ “So tired, vod,” Kix bit back a yawn as he snuggled into a more comfortable position.  _

_ “I know,” Jesse brought a hand up to rub Kix’s scalp, feeling his brother melt even farther into their side. “You can sleep, I’ll keep first watch.” _

_ It didn’t take much more convincing for Kix to nod off. When Jesse was certain he was asleep, they gathered him up in their arms and carried him to their bunkroom.  _

_ With all the care in the world, they set him down on top of the covers. Jesse was going to return to their own bunk when Kix’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.  _

_ Even in sleep, Kix was trying to give him comfort. He knew they didn’t like sleeping alone, hadn’t since before they left Kamino and their batchmates were disappearing one by one in the night.  _

_ Jesse slipped onto the bed beside Kix and pressed their backs together. As he closed his eyes, he let himself picture a future where his siblings wouldn’t have to be so tired they were falling asleep mere minutes after their shifts ended. _ )

“-se? Vod?” Rex’s voice came floating towards them, and they blinked to try and clear their head. 

“What?” Jesse tilted their head and frowned. 

“I said, how are you feeling?” Rex was frowning right back at them, the motion tugging on the developing wrinkles on his forehead. 

Jesse sighed and tugged at their braid, which was starting to fall apart. Maybe they could ask Hondo to redo it when he came back?

“Jesse.”

“Oh,” Jesse snapped back to attention, only just keeping from straightening into the formal pose they used back in the GAR. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know how you’re feeling?” Rex frowned even harder. It occurred to Jesse that they should maybe invest in one of those face creams for Rex, his face looked oddly in danger of cracking under the weight of his disappointment. 

Jesse’s mind drifted again, and they realized they couldn’t see Ahsoka anymore. 

“Where’d vod’ika go?” 

“Kenobi’s getting frustrated with his meditating, she went to try and calm him. Stop avoiding the question.”

“What do you want me to say, Rex? Our general who had our back for years turned around and knowingly forced our mind-controlled vode to kill his old family, he killed the woman he loved so much he was willing to spend precious seconds we didn’t have just to say hi, he’s a kriffing  _ sith  _ now,” Jesse’s voice cracked. “No, I don’t know what I’m feeling. It’s too much.”

Jesse closed their eyes when their brother began tearing up. They didn’t want to see Rex break down. If they acknowledged they should be hurting, they would hurt. ANd they didn’t want to.

They felt Rex touch their shoulder and jerked out of his grip.

“I’m going to my room,” they turned around and fled. 

A thousand moments were shoving around in their head.

Skywalker letting Jesse hold his lightsaber. Skywalker tossing a careless grin at them before jumping off a cliff. Skywalker fiercely protecting injured vode. Skywalker running into danger to keep them from risking their lives. Skywalker with Ahsoka, praising her and teaching her, comforting her and bickering with her. 

And other things too. Like the way he would focus single-mindedly on a mission, forgetting to minimize losses for the sake of the vode. How he would ignore Rex’s opinions when he’d already decided what they were going to do. When he would brush past the shinies and snap at the medics for not patching Rex up fast enough. 

And of course, Maul was back in their head too. Sliding his cold hands into every part of Jesse’s mind, tearing at things so deep inside them they might not ever get to fix them...telling Jesse they were worthless, that no one would come to save them, that he was their only chance for survival, the survival of the vode, and he might have been right, too. Which was the worst part. 

Ahsoka told them how Maul was so sure the coming darkness was connected to Skywalker, how Maul tried so hard to get Ahsoka to join him…

Skywalker was now the same as the zabrak who tore into their mind like it was fine silk and he was an angry wampa looking for food. Jesse-Jesse was still trying to rebuild their mind after what happened, and-

When Jesse took a deep breath, they realized they were curled up in a ball under their bunk, their heart beating like it was trying to leap from their chest. A whimper escaped them, and all they could do was ride out the waves of residual terror and helplessness, trying to remind their brain that they were safe, Maul was gone. Their mind was their own, no one else’s. 

Everything is fine. Everything is fine.

Rex knew he was going to wear a hole in the floor with his pacing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. The things he thought he knew, all wrong. The foundation of his world was crumbling down around him, and he was helpless to stop any of it. Anakin, a father and a sith. Why didn’t he notice?

Near the end of the war he was Anakin’s closest confidant after Padme, his trust in his old master was worn thin. Rex should have noticed, should have been able to tell he was slipping so badly. 

And maybe he had noticed, maybe he caught every warning sign. Maybe he just didn’t want to acknowledge them. And that was worse, wasn’t it? Didn’t that make Rex himself complicit in the Fall of his general?

He felt like a failure of a vod. The  _ one _ jetii he told about Fives’ theory was a sith in the making, would take advantage of the vode and force them to do something none of them would ever do. 

Rex was furious. He wanted to go find Anakin and kick some sense into that dark-fried brain of his. 

The man had had everything Rex wanted out of life, and he threw it aside like broken armour. 

Rex lifted a hand to tug at his curls and growled wordlessly at the wall. One thought rang clear in his mind. 

Cody had better be alive. If this gods-damned world took his ori’vod because of Anakin’s actions, not a Force in the galaxy would be enough for him to find Anakin, and make him pay. 


	12. The value of connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they do one of those things Obi-Wan said they needed to do before leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Two chapters in two days? To the lovely anon who sent me such a kind message on tumblr today, and every single one of you who leave comments and kudos, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love writing, and I love getting to share that with others.  
> I hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying the snow <3

Obi-Wan didn’t know where to start with his beloved grandpadawan. Leaving the Jedi order was one thing (a dramatic flair their lineage was known for, even), but cutting oneself off from the Force? That was like putting on a blindfold or cutting off an arm. Sure, these were things you could deal with, but you shouldn’t need to deal with them unnecessarily. 

At the end of the day, if Ahsoka decided this was what was best for her, of course he would support her. Of course he would. 

But Obi-Wan had a feeling that one of the major reasons behind cutting herself off was the trauma she experienced on the day the war ended. Obi-Wan himself was still working through everything he felt, would still wake up during the night with the cries of his fallen family ringing in his ears. He will likely be dealing with the repercussions of that day for the rest of his life. 

The key part of that was he was  _ dealing  _ with the loss, the pain, the sorrow. Ahsoka didn’t seem like she was processing, and he wanted to help her. 

And, he admitted to himself, with such a small group they would need everyone at full strength if they wanted a chance at getting Cody out alive.

He cleared his throat as she settled in cross-legged on her own meditation mat. 

“Dear one, I need you to tell me why you decided to cut yourself off from the Force,” he kept his voice soft and gentle, it was imperative that she not feel judged. 

“Everything happened so fast, master. I don’t remember deciding. One minute we were trying to stay alive during the crash, and the next,” she closed her eyes. “At first I thought I shouldn’t use the Force because I wasn’t centered. I was afraid that my emotions would draw me to the dark, so I waited. We buried as many of the vode as we could, and I just kept feeling so  _ much _ , it was-”

“Breathe, Ahsoka, try to calm your mind.”

“Sorry master,” she ducked her head.

“There is nothing for you to be sorry for, it’s natural to feel.”

“My head was ringing, it was all so loud and so quiet at the same time. All the Jedi, all across the galaxy, I could feel them crying out in pain. It amplified with every death, every fall. It was all so confusing, I felt you fall off a cliff and I felt Master Plo’s shock as his fighter went down in flames. All the Jedi, master.  _ All _ of them,” all Obi-Wan wanted was to reach out and hold her close, but she needed to keep going. “And the quiet, I’d never felt that before. The vode were so bright in the Force, I was never alone from the moment I set down on Christophsis. There was always a vod in easy reach, their minds were so loud, even in sleep. When they all went silent, I was so scared, master.”

“I know, young one. I was as well,” he stated simply, pleased when she opened her eyes to look at him. “I understand. Did I ever tell you what it was like for me to return from Melida/Daan?”

“Isn’t that a planet in the Outer Rim?”

“In the Territories, yes,” Obi-Wan nodded.

“Why were you there?”

So he told her. He spoke about Tahl becoming injured, and Qui-Gonn forcing him to choose between the Order or a group of kids. He told her about his first exposure to being engulfed in pain and hurt, watching his friends die all around him and being powerless to stop it. 

“It was my first time in war. The Young fought so hard to build a better planet. The adults around us were killing each other off by the dozens, they thought they could do better.  _ We _ thought we could do better. I was so young and foolish, I didn’t know near enough to help the way I wanted to,” echoes of old pain were stirring in his chest at the memory of Cerasi and Nield. 

“We can’t always stop the pain, but we can face it. Ahsoka, I want to guide you back to the Force so you can move past this as best you can. I know how overwhelming that day was, trust me, I do. But you can’t keep running from what happened to our people. The Jedi  _ and  _ the clones were killed that day. But we know better, so we do better. To fix this galaxy, we need to do everything that is in our power to do.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” she looked at him with sad eyes, and he understood. 

“If this is not what you want, I will fully support your decision. I want you to know I’m here for you, whatever you choose.”

“Is this why you sent everyone to the market?” She tried for a smirk, but it fell flat. 

“It’s been three years, Ahsoka. Out here in the desert, there’s very few lifeforms. It’s the perfect place to reconnect. Unless, of course, your older siblings are hovering over you with worry, in addition to a pirate who never learned impulse control or how to filter his thoughts,” Obi-Wan shrugged. “We needed the supplies either way. It will be a long hyperspace journey, and though we may have to stop a few times for fuel and air, it would be nice to try and limit our stops. Would you like to try?”

They sat in silence as Ahsoka contemplated. She called their droid over, the R4 had been in a rest cycle in the corner of the room, and spoke to the droid in a hushed tone. It opened the compartment on its body and used its little arm to cross its processing unit in an x. She patted the droid on his dome and sent it to wait by the door. 

“Okay, let’s do this.”

Obi-Wan smiled at her. “Remember your lessons. The Force surrounds us, it is in everything. It is not a tool to use, but an ally to help you.”

“First, I’ll sink into a light meditation. Try to match up your breathing with mine, and once we are ready I will surround you with my Force presence. If you don’t change your mind-and you have every right to do so at any point-we’ll start removing your walls one by one. We will take this as slow as we need to. Ready?”

“Ready.”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and let himself wander into the Living Force. On Tatooine it was much subtler than on other planets, but it was there. From the gentle pulsing of the land to the whispering of the winds, Tatooine was filled with life and movement. Obi-Wan let himself attach to the winds, recalling that the young togruta loved high places and jumping from ledges. Perhaps opening her connection with a tether to her closest element would ease the journey. 

After a while (time was always hard to tell in mediation), Obi-Wan reached out and surrounded Ahsoka with his Force presence. He used a heavy hand, making it much more noticeable than it would usually be. 

He wrapped her up in comforting mental winds and felt her relax further. Letting out a breath, he pried away Ahsoka’s outer shields. It took more power than he was expecting, so he focused on one small crack. Obi-Wan guided the Force to look at the crack, and between the pieces he pushed all the love and care he could fit. He sent wave after wave in past the wall, hoping she would pick up on it. 

How long it took, he couldn’t say, but eventually the wall folded in on itself, paper-thin and peeling away from her Force-presence.

Ahsoka was now a bit brighter in the Force. Obi-Wan wrapped his presence around her in a Force hug, and he was delighted to notice she felt happy and was already trying to reach back. He knew it was important to take their time with this, to not rush her, so he focused on her next set of walls. He passed his awareness over them, around them, looking for the best angle until he discovered a section that was softer than the rest. 

Obi-Wan gathered the Force around him again, calling for help to soften the section even more. The Force gladly joined him, he could feel the rhythms of the sand pulsing with every press. He kept up the steady stream of affection and felt a thrum in response. 

The second set of walls came down with a whisper, floating away on the breeze like a kite. Obi-Wan paused for a second. Something was changing in his own mind. He was starting to feel the barest trace of his training bond with Ahsoka. He held onto it with all the strength he could spare and pushed back into taking down Ahsoka’s walls. Now that he was close enough, he could feel that she had been working just as hard as he was, if not harder, to drop her walls from the inside. 

Sooner than he’d expected, he was able to communicate with her again. 

_ Ahsoka? _

_ Master! _

_ It’s good to truly feel you again, dear one. _

Her walls had been like beskar, built to keep things out. They weren’t the same as the regular shielding a Force user would have, so Obi-Wan lent her the strength of his own shielding while she clumsily built up her protection again. He felt the Force whirl around them, adding extra strength to her newly forged walls.

_ I’d almost forgotten what it feels like to be surrounded by the Force, _ she sounded happy, but hesitant. Although they were in the Outer Rim, far away from any of the planets Order 66 was carried out on, the echoes in the Force were far-reaching. He was doing his best to keep them from reaching her while she shored up her shields. 

_ How are you feeling? _ A checkin was necessary before they went any farther. 

_ Tired, but good.  _ He felt her basking in the light surrounding them, drawing his presence closer to hers as she readjusted to her lost sense. 

_ When you’re ready, I want you to reach out. Not far, say, to your ship. Go as slowly as you need to.  _ He felt her apprehension, but soon she was ducking out from under his presence and stretching out into the living Force. 

He made sure to stay close enough to draw her back under his shielding if necessary, but she was quickly growing in her confidence. He felt her going over every inch of their ship before moving out into the canyons. 

_ There is so much life I missed yesterday! _ Her voice was overjoyed as she poked into burrows and into nests.

_ Tatooine is rich in the Force. _

_ What’s that?  _ He felt her focus laser in on a moisture farm not too far from Mos Eisley.  _ It’s so bright _ . 

Obi-Wan smiled to himself.  _ Why don’t you have a look for yourself?  _

The joy she was feeling rippled outwards freely along their, and he sent waves of fondness back. It had been so long since a bond of his had been used! He missed this. With an ache in his heart, he thought about how quiet his bond with Cody felt yesterday, how he had to strain to gather even the slightest of sensations. 

_ It’s Luke,  _ her mind voice was quiet now.  _ He feels so much like Anakin used to.  _

_ He does. A little supernova, just like his father _ . Ah, that tightness in his throat had returned.

_ Obi-Wan?  _ He felt her concern wash over him, and she awkwardly tried to tuck him under her own presence. Laughing, he let himself huddle close to her. He’d missed this kind of contact since living in the desert. It wasn’t exactly his own choice that led him here, but he was relieved nonetheless.

With the ebb and flow of the Force currents, the old Jedi Master let himself relax and released his sadness to float away into the Force. His failure was in the past now, all he could do was continue to make up for his shortcomings and help the people who could still be helped. Speaking of…

Obi-Wan slowly gathered his mind back into his body, emerging from the light meditation with ease. He waited patiently for Ahsoka to follow. 

“How are you feeling, my dear?” Ahsoka opened her eyes and took a deep breath in. 

“I feel...balanced. I thought I was doing the right thing by cutting myself off, but I missed out on so much. Who knows how many times I could have helped my aliit if I weren’t so stubborn about this?” She dropped her head into her hands. “I feel so foolish.”

“Oh, no, Ahsoka you aren’t foolish. You were dealing with it as best you knew how. It’s okay to need a little help now and again. 

“I’m not the same as I once was,” the R4 unit whirred and rolled over to her. He bumped against her leg and looked like he was trying to comfort her. 

“None of us are, dear one.”

Later in the day, after she had worked on dusting off her tactile Force skills, the wandering trio returned. Hondo came in the door first, arms empty aside from a small sachet that he tossed to Obi-Wan. Secretly, the Jedi was expecting spice, so it was a rather pleasant surprise to smell tea through the burlap. 

The two clones came staggering in after, multiple bags hanging from staffs over their shoulders. 

“Why do we even need these anyway? None of us can cook,” Jesse sounded rather put out as they carefully set the food down in the crates Obi-Wan set aside. 

“I am more than capable of preparing adequate meals, thank you,” Obi-Wan turned to Rex. “I’m sure your brother mentioned my tiingilar once or twice? It’s quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”

“Cody never shut up about your cooking, it was the worst,” Rex rolled his eyes. “It took literal weeks for him to stop talking about it after you cooked for him. Yes, I know about the tiingilar.”

( _ “Are you free this evening, commander?” Obi-Wan looked down at his commander. There may have only been a few inches of height between them, but when they were standing so close, those inches really made a difference.  _

_ “I’ve got some paperwork to fill out, but nothing aside from that,” Cody glanced up at him, and though he wasn’t smiling, Obi-Wan could see how his face softened.  _

_ “I was wondering if you might join me for latemeal, I managed to find a few ingredients I’m eager to cook with, and. Well, cooking for someone else is infinitely more enjoyable than cooking for myself,” Obi-Wan felt a blush dust his cheeks.  _

_ “I’d like that very much, general,” Cody bumped their shoulders together as the lift came to a stop. “What time?”  _

_ “Come whenever your shift ends, I’ll be sure to have it ready.” _

_ Sure enough, when Cody input the code to his door, Obi-Wan was just setting the makeshift table (his desk) for two. A large casserole dish took center stage, and around it were piled several smaller dishes, including bread and a paste that looked alarmingly green.  _

_ “Ah! Cody! Your timing is perfect, everything is still hot.” _

_ Cody hovered by the door, and Obi-Wan could see his eyes close as his chest rose.  _

_ “Please, make yourself comfortable. No need to stand on formalities,” the man was still in his armour, and Obi-Wan wanted him to feel relaxed in his quarters, safe enough that he could remove his shell if he wanted. This was far from the first time Cody had visited, but it was the first time he’d cooked for the commander.  _

_ Cody tilted his head and met Obi-Wan’s eye with that searching stare he so loved. After a moment, he started to shuck off his plastoid armour, piling it on the floor cushion Obi-Wan had come to think of as Cody’s. He left his belt and his lower armour on, with the exception of his boots, which were carefully lined up by the door.  _

_ “I may have gone overboard and tripled the recipe, I hope you came hungry,” Obi-Wan swept a hand towards the table.  _

_ “It smells amazing,” they sat down across from each other, and Obi-Wan was trying very hard not to think about how much this resembled a date.  _

_ Cody looked a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food, so Obi-Wan served them each a dish, explaining what the various bits were.  _

_ When he took his first mouthful of tiingilar, Cody let out a moan so obscene Obi-Wan almost choked on his spit. Luckily the other man seemed to be too lost in the food to notice. _

_ “This is what food is supposed to taste like?” He was shoveling bites in his mouth faster than Obi-Wan had ever seen before (and he’d both grown up with never-slows-down Quinlan and raised will-eat-anything-that-moves Anakin, so that was saying a lot).  _

_ They made it through the meal without incident, and Obi-Wan somehow managed not to blush towards the commander when he asked for seconds, and then thirds. Obi-Wan offered him a mug of tea when they moved to the couch, but Cody declined, claiming he could not fit anything more in his stomach or it would burst. Obi-Wan laughed, and Cody graced him with one of his rare smiles.  _

_ “I don’t know how I’m supposed to go back to rations after this,” he groaned and let his head fall back on the cushions. The commander reached over and grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand in thanks.  _

_ “Well, there’s enough here to last you a few more evenings, if you’d like,” Cody lazily opened one eye to glance at him.  _

_ “You’d want me here for the next few nights?” _

_ “If you’re free, you’re more than welcome here anytime,” Obi-Wan kept his gaze on the hand that was picking at his robes. _

_ “Thank you,” the commander whispered. Obi-Wan hummed in response and didn’t dare look at him when he squeezed his hand again.  _

_ By the time Obi-Wan worked up the nerve to look at him again, the poor man was asleep. (But still holding Obi-Wan’s hand.) _

_ Obi-Wan let himself sit there for a long time, relishing the warmth exuding off his commander before he moved over to the bed to drift off to sleep himself. He couldn’t help but wish his commander were in the bed with him so he could huddle close to the warmth. Obi-Wan ran colder than the average person, and like all his siblings, Cody ran hot. Together, he felt, they could achieve equilibrium. He let his eyes close with a sigh and let himself dream. Maybe one day, after the war, when Cody wasn’t trapped by any sort of power structure. When he could be free to say no. _ )

Obi-Wan excused himself and went to his room, heart pounding in his chest. As he left he heard Rex tease Ahsoka about not realizing she didn’t pick up her saber after she dropped it. He felt a flash of gratitude from her-much brighter than he would have felt that morning-as he handed the weapon back. There was a wave in the Force as Ahsoka reached out to her crystal for the first time in years, but Obi-Wan needed space. He needed to check on Cody. 

After the first time he connected to Cody, it was now a simple matter to call up the bond again. He knew where it was in his mind, he knew the shape of it, and the feel it gave him. When Obi-Wan held Cody’s mind in his own again, he wanted to cry. He wanted to rage and scream and hurt whoever was responsible for doing this to his commander, his friend. But those were not Jedi approved feelings. 

So instead of raging or yelling, or tearing out his own hair, he sank deeper into his meditation and procured the name of a moon. He obtained hope. 

Now, all he wanted to do was poke at Cody with his mind, and have Cody poke back at him. He wanted a normal day, he wanted things to be the way they were when they were together and the galaxy still made sense. 

Obi-Wan set himself down on the floor and settled into his meditation stance. Connecting with Cody’s mind didn’t take as much focus this time around, but as he had learned from the 212th, the severe pose discouraged most unimportant interruptions. And besides, the familiar pose was comforting.

He reached out and held the bond, and he tried to think of what to say, what...feelings to send to the empty mind. Cody was still in there somewhere, he had to be. In the end, Obi-Wan settled for tugging on the bond. With the distance and the state of disrepair the bond was in, there wasn’t much more he could do. He sat and waited for a long while, but there was no response. 

He frowned to himself at the sinking of his chest. It wasn’t logical to feel upset that he didn’t get an immediate answer. Who knows if the other man could even feel the tug from so far away? And, on the slim chance that he could feel it, there was no guarantee that he could identify it for what it was  _ or  _ that he would know how to respond. 

There was every possibility that whatever remained of Cody was being blocked from accessing the bond.

Obi-Wan stood up and stretched his muscles out before he climbed into his bed. An afternoon nap sounded like just the thing to raise his spirits. He’d quite forgotten how much energy it took to be around other people. He let himself tug one more time on the bond, a little more forcefully, just as he was slipping away. 

On the other side of the galaxy on a moon so small it was almost forgotten by the rest of the galaxy, a stormtooper jolted awake. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading, and 😳 is it Cody time? I think it's Cody time.


	13. What we've all been waiting for

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter a certain stormtrooper, stage left!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I've been so excited to finally have Cody actively in the story and not just in flashbacks that I couldn't stop myself from posting tonight 😂 Cody is...well he's having a Time. I hope you enjoy!

He jerked upright, heart hammering inside his chest. Where...was he? Instinct had him examine the room he was in, slowly going over every detail, as if that could help him remember. 

The walls were bare, unpainted metal, the bunk he was on seemed purely for performance, no blanket but there was a rather flat pillow. It was quiet in the way only landside buildings could be. Ships, they had their own noises that never died down. 

There was a small stand by the entrance holding pure white armour, but it looked so wrong. His armour was supposed to be painted, he painted it just last morning, didn’t he? 

A sharp pain in his head had him gasping and closing his eyes. The man took a moment to just breath. He thought back to the moment he woke up, what was it? Something specific woke him up. Confusion clouded his mind, and he felt himself being shoved down. The cloud wasn’t sleep, it was something else, something...something not good. 

And then the feeling that woke him up happened again.

There was a gentle tug on his, his  _ what _ ? He couldn’t place it, it was like the pain that shot through his head sometimes, but at the same time it was nothing like that at all. The pain was bad, it hurt. It made him forget things, it made his hands shake and his vision blur. The tugging felt like a familiar comfort. But it was new, wasn’t it? 

_ Cody _ . 

The man fumbled to his feet, cursing as he knocked into his armour stand. 

“Who’s there?” But it was quiet, and he was alone. 

So, the man gathered the armour up with shaking hands and sat back down to work at calming his racing heart. Patterns taught to him long ago came naturally to him and he slowly let himself relax. 

The voice had called him Cody, he was sure of it. 

“Cody,” he whispered, rolling the word quietly in his mind like a strange yet familiar taste. “I’m Cody.”

Cody closed his eyes and braced his head in his hands. There was something he had to do, a task that was left unfinished, he had to go-he had to go and-

“Osik!” He punched the stiff mattress with a fist. Cody’s mind was refusing to work, it was like there was a brick wall blocking him from getting his memories. His heart stuttered when the fog threatened to take over again, and he fought with all his mind, trying somehow to keep ahold of his head. 

A voice in the back of his mind (his own voice, he was sure) was telling him he had to fight, that he had a reason to fight. Cody tugged and yanked and fought to reach that voice, to hear what it was saying. He only managed to catch a flash- 

( _ orange hair, his own dark hands running through the soft locks, a sleepy murmur, the familiar beeping of machines setting a tempo to the moment, calm and steady and  _ right _ and Cody was relieved because he was alive and he thought the worst- _ )

-before he was being pulled under again. This time, Cody stayed awake in the background. Cody remembered his name. Cody remembered soft orange hair and the cadence of machines.

And Cody watched. 

ST-2224 did not require an alarm to wake him from sleep, his body was a well-tuned machine. He rigidly adhered to his assigned schedule, not wasting a single minute on frivolous activities. ST-2224 was the best at what he did. He carried no memories of what he once was, and for that he was grateful. His new role as Security Manager and Patrol Officer was an efficient assignment, and ST-2224 was well suited to the job. He was able to monitor the security boards, coordinate patrols, and manage the paperwork of his position with ease. There were no late nights ( sitting on comfy pillows ), no last-minute scrambles to complete his paperwork ( because they were close to Coruscant and the dreaded High Council meeting ), no stress ( because his Jetii wasn’t eating enough  _ again _ ). For ST-2224, there was only the satisfaction of serving his Emperor in the most optimal way he could. 

When he reported to the commander in charge of his division, he swiftly presented the datapad with the work that was due. He barely registered the disdainful looks shot his way by his  natborn superior, or the snickers behind hands from the other officers on deck. As he walked away, he couldn’t connect the words they were saying to himself. He’d never been able to, not since his arrival, before he was reconditioned for the sixth and final time. 

As far as ST-2224 was concerned, he had never been a Marshal Commander, never served in a war. He had never led a whole attack battalion by himself while his general was off with a smaller legion, led by a shinier CO. ST-2224 had never experienced the events that changed CC-2224 from a number to a man, from a man to a legend. 

If he had really stopped to consider it, ST-2224 might have found it odd when battle strategists would seek him out from time to time, asking for his advice on various campaigns before they were shipped out. He might have stopped to wonder why they were so outwardly condescending in large groups, but why they shrunk when he passed them in the halls. He probably would have questioned why he was stationed on this specific moon, overseeing a supplies and munitions depot when he was trained and qualified for so much more. 

ST-2224 was told he was defective and that he must monitor himself closely for any newly emerged defects. Reading his file told him he had been reconditioned the maximum number of times possible. His old self would have questioned the need for so many reconditionings, but this self simply knew that there was something wrong with him that needed fixing. 

As it was, the fog kept him docile, kept his mind blurred enough that he didn’t think to question his orders or the hushed questions shoved his way or the fear that made people avoid his path until they had use for him. 

When the morning briefing was complete, ST-2224 proceeded to his station, where he flipped between monitors that were set up in the forests surrounding the depot. The station might run on a skeleton crew, but there were valuable stores kept in the buildings. With a troublesome local population, it was imperative that ST-2224 remain apprised of any emerging or recurrent threats. This was his duty to his Emperor. ST-2224 was a good soldier. 

And good soldiers follow orders.

“Sir! ST-9834 reporting for duty!” 

“ST-9835, reporting for duty, sir!”

Two troopers stood to his right with their arms raised in sloppy salutes. Cody grumbled about lazy, unskilled troopers. ST-2224 presented them with their tasklist. 

“The insurgents are becoming more bold by the day. Our cameras found a group of their ‘warriors’ approaching landmark krenth late into the night cycle.”

Cody cringed at the scorn in his voice when he used the term warrior, and instinctively tried to make himself smaller. There was a time he and his brothers-no, not just brothers-they took pride in being warriors. 

“Krenth? But that’s-”

“Just a few clicks from base!” The second trooper finished the firsts’ sentence, and all ST-2224 felt was annoyance. These troops were useless.

“The farthest in these groups have ventured before last night was landmark cherek on the south side of the base. What could this mean?” ST-2224 mostly hated training the new recruits. They join in search of glory and yet have no idea the amount of work it took to do this job. 

“Krenth is on the north side,” the first started, his voice unsure. 

“Maybe it’s a different group?”

ST-2224 sighed and closed his eyes for a moment and thought about transferring them to labour and delivery. Cody couldn’t bring himself to disagree. 

“The footage we have,” the officer pressed a few buttons, lighting up two screens with different images, “shows the same individuals each time. The groups are identical, down to the clothing they wear. What does this tell us?”

“They don’t do laundry?”

“Yeah, they probably smell.”

ST-2224 slammed a fist down on his desk. 

“If you two don’t smarten up, I’ll-”

“Sorry sir!”

“Sorry!”

Cody couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This...ST in his head, he had a pretty short fuse with these troopers. From what little he’d seen of the officer (manager?) he was numb. Unfeeling. It wasn’t adding up.

“As I was saying, this demonstrates a strategic mind behind the advances. The rebels come in the same groups, in the same clothes. They approach from different sides of the building and seem to have no clear objective. This means they have a purpose.”

“I don’t understand, if they don’t look like they have a goal, how does that tell you they have a goal?” The officer nodded at the trooper who spoke.

“Now you’re using your bucket. If they were simply wandering, the group would be far more spread out. See, here,” ST-2224 pulled up a third set of images on a blank screen. “Notice how these people are moving? Each of them are looking in a different direction, but all of them together don’t cover all areas they are travelling through. And our group-”

“They’re walking really close together,” the one who asked the question nodded his helmet and put a hand on his belt. “They look organized.”

“Precisely. We don’t know what they want, but it is clear they want something. Whether to test our patience, to see how far they can make it, or even to annoy us, these insurgents are working with a goal in mind. You two are the lucky officers-in-training who get to lead the patrols today.”

“Us?”

“No,” the quiet one shook his head. “No way am I going out there! Who knows what they left!”

“It’s your job to find out. You will each lead your squads to landmark krenth, where you will systematically scour the surroundings for any evidence they may have left behind. If you recall proper protocol, it includes scanning for planted weapons, both in the ground and in the trees-”

“The trees? That’s-oomph!” The second trooper cut off when his companion elbowed him in the side. 

“Yes sir, we understand sir.”

ST-2224 was silent for a moment, and Cody held his breath (metaphorically, he was still stuck behind that brick wall of a fog), waiting to see what he would do. 

To his great surprise, he felt a small smirk on his face. It was hidden behind the stormtrooper helmet, but it was there. 

“The protocols have been reloaded onto your personal datapads, should you arrive on scene and find yourselves...wanting for direction. Once you reach landmark krenth you are to follow protocol for the surrounding three sectors. If you find anything, contact me immediately and I will arrange a pickup team to assist your squads in proper detainment and disposal. You leave in ten standard. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir!” The troopers saluted at the same time, still sloppy, and turned to race away. ST-2224 and Cody watched them crash into each other when they tried to go through an entryway at the same time. ST-2224 sighed and turned back to his monitors. 

He cleared the old footage from the screens and ran a cursory search program over the active feeds. The security programs ran constantly while he was away, but he had a few personal programs he liked to run when he was in the room. The Empire tended to miss certain details that ST-2224 found important. 

Cody absorbed all the information he could while ST-2224 stood at his station. He noted guard patterns, camera locations, feed names. His eidetic memory was still working even if his old memories were blocked from him. 

He also tried to experiment with ST-2224. He tried to figure out how far he could influence him before the other noticed him. So far, he could convince him to look at a certain screen if he directed his thoughts completely and loudly. The trick worked, but it was exhausting. 

It wasn’t like making his body look himself, but it was close. If he couldn’t make his body move, he could influence the other mind to do things. Maybe if he built up to it, he could convince the other to do more than look. Cody let his mind wander from the task at hand.

( _ His brother was standing beside him, grinning ear to ear. His name was- _

_ His brother was beside him, laughing about what just happened. It always happened to Cody, and his brother loved teasing him about it. He was always picking up after-after the man with the orange hair. After  _ his _ man with the orange hair.  _

_ Their voices were so similar, he and his brother, but you could tell the difference between them if you tried.  _

_ Cody, he didn’t talk as much. He preferred to listen. But his brother liked talking, he learned it from his-It was one of the reasons they made such a good pair: they complimented each other well.  _

_ Cody glanced over at his-he looked at his- _

_ He saw the orange hair and smiled. His-he was safe. That’s all he wanted.  _

_Cody looked at his brother to share the relief and saw his own face staring back. Cody smiled and knocked their shoulders together._ _It was always a good day when his brother and his red haired man were alive._ )

Cody started back to attentiveness. Luckily he hadn’t missed much during his episode. 

It felt like a flashback, or a memory, but it couldn’t be, could it? His brain was locking him out, but maybe small pieces were escaping?

It did feel familiar. Like this was a scene he was in more than once. Not a single moment then, a habit? A pattern?

Whatever it was, he clearly had good feelings associated with it. 

With that, Cody resolved to do everything in his power to get back in control of his mind and body. What he would do after that, well. He didn’t have a plan for that part just yet. But he had a feeling it would include the orange haired man...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to reflect just how little Cody knows by omitting many of the solid facts, I hope this wasn't too confusing on your end! As more memories start to trickle in it should all make more sense :)  
> A great big thank you to everyone leaving kudos and comments on this fic, it brings me honestly so much joy. It's been a rough week for me, and your kind words have made a big difference! So thank you and have a wonderful day <3


	14. But what about Hondo???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little snippets of what Hondo was thinking and feeling over the past few chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!! Thanks so much for sticking in there and being so patient for the update! And for everyone who leaves comments, I read them all and hold them close to my heart, they honestly bring me a lot of joy so thank you,,  
> I have several chapters after this one written out and ready to go, but I realized I kind of left Hondo out of everything?? So I had to actually sit down and write out what happened to him during all the stuffs. Which was fun but also difficult because it felt like Hondo couldn't make up his mind about what he wanted to do. I always knew Hondo would stay behind on Tatooine but I couldn't ditch him without explaining it you know? 😂 OKAY I've ranted at you guys for long enough in here, I hope you enjoy!!

Hondo couldn’t contain his glee. Everything was going exactly to plan! 

Well, not  _ exactly  _ but close enough! He kept his word, but still managed to get the kids to Kenobi. Now, if he could only get his dear friend to stop attacking them! 

Hondo snuck a glance over at the two who accompanied him. The look on the young lads face was priceless. So different from his sibling, despite the same face. 

Hondo didn’t know any of them all that well-if he was honest with himself, there weren’t many people left that he could say he understood any deeper than a passing acquaintance-but that’s beside the point. Hondo didn’t  _ need  _ to know the soldier well to read his face. His expressions were unencrypted messages, if you wanted to know what he was thinking, all you had to do was leisure a glance and you’d have everything you wanted to know. 

And one look at the young man now showed fear, but not for himself. For his vod, as he’d called the young Jedi. He might have been behind her, but his pose screamed of a protective instinct. Rex was clearly holding himself back as the togruta went to go investigate. 

Hondo considered telling them the “dragon” was Kenobi, but where was the fun in that? They’d find out soon enough. 

For now he was content to watch it all play out. 

It would be good to see someone he used to know, not that he would ever-ever!-admit it out loud, but Hondo was, he thought quietly, a bit lonely. Being on a ship with a crew that was so clearly family made him realize just how quiet the past few years had been for him. 

“She’s almost as tall as them now,” Kenobi stroked his beard as he watched the chattering young crew with wistful eyes. “Sometimes, Hondo, I feel as if I’ve been left behind. I’ve been here, on the same planet, doing the same things for such a long time. Three years I’ve lived on Tatooine. That’s longer than I’ve spent on a single planet since before my apprenticeship.”

“You my friend need to get out more! See the stars again,” Hondo snapped his fingers and grinned at his friend. “I know just the thing! Tomorrow, I go into town for a new ship! I’m sure some of my credit is still good in Mos Eisley, and once I find a ship, you can join me on my new adventure!”

Kenobi looked at Hondo with all the sadness he could muster. “You know why I cannot come with you, old friend.”

Hondo placed a gentle hand on Kenobi’s forearm. “I know. Nothing could make you leave the little one, eh?”

With another small smile, Kenobi tilted his head to the side. “I’m afraid very few things short of dire galactic need could pull me from my post. Luke, well. He and his sister are the last hope for the galaxy.”

“Ah, Kenobi! You’re always so practical,” Hondo said, though not unkindly. “No one would blame you if you were bored. You had quite the lifestyle shift in a day. You are allowed to want for more.”

“What more could I possibly want?” At a wry look from Hondo, Kenobi waved a hand. “For once, Hondo, I know I’m able to fulfill my duty to the order without interruption. Perhaps a few years earlier than strictly necessary, but I’m in the right place.”

“We are not so different, you and I. Jedi and pirates; neither of us is made to be alone,” Hondo crossed his arms and tried to hold back the long carried pain. 

“And yet here we are.” 

“Hmm.”

Hondo was quiet after that. 

When Hondo joined his first crew, he wasn’t prepared at  _ all _ for the life he signed up for (though he certainly thought he was ready). His young self wanted adventure, riches, excitement! The life he ended up with...was not quite as glamorous as what he envisioned so long ago. Piracy wasn’t a simple life, despite what the holonet might want you to think. And pirates themselves weren’t lazy either. 

No, pirates were some of the smartest people Hondo had ever met. Sentients of all species came together in the time-honoured tradition of freedom from institutional oppression. In his first few months as a pirate, Hondo learned more about being a decent, well,  _ being _ than he did about how to be a pirate. 

There was a code of honour among his crew, a creed that bound them. They might not have had fancy tenets like the mando’ade, but their unspoken code bound them tightly. In losing his creed, Hondo lost himself. 

His crew, his family, he missed them with a passion. The empty spaces around him taunted him with their wrongness, forcing him to perform more and more reckless jobs just to distract from the pirate-shaped voids following him around. He let slip his code, and in doing so, the values of his family. It’s not a time he likes to remember. 

Regaining his code-dubious and conflicting though it may seem to others like Kenobi-allowed him to sleep at night. It allowed him to reach back into his memories to find other traditions he could still follow alone. 

His most beloved and most longed-for moments were the small ones between Hondo and his family. The quiet, intimate moments between jobs that existed in the boundaries between day and night that were so blurred in the rush of space travel. Some of Hondo’s most treasured memories were those where his youngest crew members would sit on his lap as he would braid their hair, or adorn their heads with the cultural decorations of their people. 

It was so important to him that his crew felt like family (one of the reasons why betrayal stung so deeply), and Hondo did his best to accommodate everyone he could. 

Braiding Jesse’s hair almost brought him to tears. It was so similar to his old ways, yet so far from the normal. Realistically, he didn’t know the young one that well at all, they were closer to Kenobi’s age than his own. 

It was so simple to let himself fall into the gentle dance of getting to know another being, but it sent stabbing pains through his heart. The young soldier and their crew had a mission, a purpose. This moment, as special as it was for him, was no more permanent than the dunes on Tatooine. 

When Kenobi pulled Hondo aside, his face was whiter than the fallen New Mandalore. It was the look of a man whose very world had been turned on its head. 

“Cody’s alive-Hondo,” the Jedi grabbed his forearms and held on like he might float away if he didn’t. “They told me, they said-they’re looking for him.”

Hondo looked him directly in the eyes and told him to go find his commander. 

When the Jedi nodded faintly and then went off to meditate, well. Hondo had no idea why he was even surprised. Of  _ course  _ Kenobi would meditate about something this important. 

He didn’t think for one second that Kenobi would be able to stay on Tatooine while the group went to find his dear commander-and Hondo didn’t so much as humour the idea that Kenobi wouldn’t be able to locate the missing commander-so Hondo did what he was best at. He went to haggle in the marketplace. 

Although, he reflected as the sand whipped in his face as he rode the borrowed speederbike, securing adequate supplies for a journey of unknown length wouldn’t be easy. In this situation, it would likely be best to barter rates with vendors rather than set amounts. 

He’d think of something. 

The outing had proved fruitful for the old pirate. One of his old contacts-a  _ very _ trustworthy ugnaught he knew back in his smuggling days-was willing to part with a modest ship with the price of a simple job. It was too good to refuse! 

The vendors were quite accommodating as well, which was rather unusual for the desert planet. The vegetable seller told him all about the bountiful harvest they’d enjoyed that year, but Hondo still wasn’t so sure. 

But! Who was Hondo to question good fortune! Never look at a gift tooka! Or, however it was that saying went. 

He shook out as much of the blasted sand as he could before stepping inside the hut ahead of the two soldiers, and revelled once again at his clean Kenobi managed to keep his little home. Sand really did get everywhere. 

When he tossed the bag of tea at his friend, he knew it had been the right choice. The Jedi would be pleased after going through all the boxes, Hondo sprinkled in various... _ indulgences  _ among the necessities that he was sure would appeal to all members of the ragtag group. 

Hondo wandered off into the kitchen to search for snacks. If he were eating, they wouldn’t ask him to help with the storing of the goods. 

Not that they would have expected help from him anyways, he assumed. It was always better to put away your own groceries, otherwise you’d never know where anything was. 

Every time Hondo’s old crewmate Jac put stuff away, he’d always reorganize the cupboards. It would take weeks for them to find a whisk once he got his hands on it. Weeks! That’s far too long to be searching for a whisk! 

Hondo shook his head as he helped himself to a large mug of spiced tea. Really, his lack of help was in the crew’s best interests. 

When it looked like the packing and organizing was starting to wrap up, Hondo set down the empty mug he’d been pretending to drink from and reached out to catch Jesse. The soldier gave him a puzzled look, but let Hondo lead them into one of Kenobi’s guest rooms. 

“Looks like you’ll be leaving soon,” he said by way of explanation as he guided them to sit on a chair. 

“We’ve been looking for him for three years,” Jesse shook their head. “No one wants to lose him now, not when we’re finally so close.”

Hondo hummed as he pulled the elastic out of their hair. The pirate began gently separating the old braid as he waited for Jesse to continue. 

“I’m not-I don’t want it to sound like I don’t want to find him, that’s not it at all, I just. I don’t know, Hondo. It feels like Rex is so focused on one vod that he forgets about the ones that are with him,” Jesse started scratching their legs. “I mean, what’s going to happen if we get to him and we can’t save him? What if the chip is too old to be removed? What do we do then?”

Hondo ran a brush through the tangles and waited. Listening was always the biggest part of his job. 

“It’s just. No one’s talking about it, I don’t know if they are even thinking about it. We need to be prepared. Commander Cody would  _ want  _ us to be prepared.”

“Kenobi and your captain won’t think the worst. Not about this,” the pirate’s hands rhythmically sorted through their hair. “I think, young one, it would break them.”

“”But we have to be ready,” Jesse protested, and Hondo saw their hands form into fists. 

“Do you know one of the first things I learned when I became the captain of a pirate crew?” Jesse shook their head slightly and Hondo had to adjust his grip on their hair. “Even if you don’t have a title, every pirate had a role in the crew. The captain provided direction, the cook food, and the musician joy. All of them important jobs, no one better than the other.”

Hondo paused. “The leader has to think things will turn out okay so that the crew believes it. You can’t make profits if no one has faith in the job! Your crew is no different. If you don’t think you can save him, you won’t work as hard as you can when you reach him. You’ll fail before you start.”

“I don’t know what our chances are, honestly I’m not sure I want to know.”

Hondo sighed and gathered another strand to add into the braid. 

“Your brother needs a sense of purpose. His whole life, he’s been moving towards an end goal. If he doesn’t have this, he’s going to be lost. It’s your job to be prepared where your brother can’t be,” Hondo tied off the braid and put his hands on their shoulders. “You know what the worst case scenario is?”

Jesse nodded, but didn’t look up at him.

“And you know what would need to be done?”

Jesse looked down at their hands, and whispered out the faintest agreement. 

“Carry this for him, then. Be ready to act when he can’t, and you’ll be okay.”

The young soldier let out a shaking sigh. 

“Now! Let’s go see where Kenobi is in packing, yes? I’m sure he’s love an audience!”

Far too soon Hondo was alone again, watching with a heavy heart as the little family sped off in their ship. Hondo wasn’t crying, he didn’t cry, not usually, it was just that the sand really did get everywhere. Even under his goggles. 

They dropped him off just outside Mos Eisley so he could pick up that ship and get a head start on that job, and Hondo tried not to think about how they were heading off into a future as uncertain as his own.

He saluted the ship as it went flying off into space, and made a vow. One day, he’d find Jesse again after all this was over, and maybe convince them to join his crew. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Please come say hi on tumblr @ corranblue I would LOVE to talk about this fic with you guys I have so many extra thoughts that just don't fit into the fic that I would love to share! Hope you are all safe and healthy <3


	15. It must have been a long three years in the desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Journey Begins! The crew sets sail, and someone's manners have...faded a bit with three years in the desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! Thanks for sticking around! I hope we are all staying safe out there. I can't believe I forgot to post this! School has been wicked busy lately, but I'm hoping (really, really hoping) I can stick to a better writing (if not posting) schedule from now on!   
> Happy halfway point! I hope you enjoy :D

Jesse refused to take out their braid. Because they had a sonic on board in place of a water shower, there wasn’t really any reason to. To top it all off, Hondo pulled them aside just before takeoff to redo it so it would last longer. He also downloaded a few easy tutorials on Jesse’s pad so they could learn to do their own hair like this. 

The style of braid did expose more of their now-blasphemous tattoo, but they figured they would be travelling for the next while anyways. No civilians would be likely to see them: when they did need to stop, whether to top up on the ship's air or grab another canister of fuel, it would be Obi-Wan or Ahsoka leaving the ship. Their and Rex’s status as clones pretty much got them out of off-ship chores. 

Of course, not leaving the ship meant...not leaving the ship. Which was fine! But even adding one more person to their home made for such a strange space. 

It wasn’t that General Kenobi was a bad roommate, but the four of their aliit had carved out a comfortable balance over the past three years. They were all comfortable, and they all knew when to stop poking at an issue, or what topics to avoid altogether. And Kenobi, he just dove right into those issues and started splashing around in them like they were the sea and he was a Kaminoan saberjowl. 

In the first standard hour of their hyperspace journey, he had already asked Jesse about Maul, Rex about Tup and Fives, and Ahsoka about her second lightsaber. The air was admittedly a little tense. Jesse had panicked when Kenobi asked them to recount Maul’s invasion of their head, Rex had choked up and been unable to say anything other than he tried, but Ahsoka came in clutch and rescued the conversation by showing Kenobi her second crystal, which she had removed before leaving her saber in the snow. 

Jesse hated to think it, it felt like forming the thought would be tantamount to betraying the Jetii General (which was astonishing because they had  _ actually _ betrayed their Jetii before), but the famous Negotiator might be out of practice with his social skills. The usually verbose man was more blunt when he spoke, and he answered questions right away instead of making you sit through a lecture that left you feeling more confused than before you had asked. More than anything, his emotions were shining through where before Jesse had a hard time getting a read on the Master Jedi. 

Jesse found they were missing the presence of the pirate. Jesse never felt dread around him like the way he was starting to feel when Kenobi opened his mouth. 

It must have been a long three years in the desert. 

It had been a long three years in the desert, and Obi-Wan had been so anxious to get moving he’d neglected to consider the fact that his new consistent lifestyle with its familiar routines was about to be thrown out on its backside. Trying to talk to his shipmates was like trying to get a certain zabrak to calm down. He was sure it could be done, he was sure of it, but the zabrak constantly hounding him did not react to anything Obi-Wan tried. This metaphor might have gotten away from him a bit.    
The point was, there were three other people on the ship with him, as well as a spunky little droid (which he would turn to as a last resort, but the droid reminded him of artoo, and those were bringing other memories he didn’t want to acknowledge to the surface). Three people, and not one of them could hold down a conversation for more than a few minutes without fidgeting or going silent. 

Honestly, was it something he was saying? Did he smell bad? Admittedly, there weren’t many opportunities for showers on a desert planet, but he thought he kept up a reasonable standard of hygiene. 

Jesse went pale as a sheet and projected a lot of fear into the Force when he asked about his stalker-ahem. His enemy. When Obi-Wan tried to speak with Rex, he projected a sadness so intense it would have knocked Obi-Wan to his feet had he been standing. Not only that, but Obi-Wan knew the captain well enough to be able to see his feelings in the tilt of his head, the furrow of his brows, and the vacant look in his eyes. 

His dear grandpadawan seemed to be the single individual willing to speak with him, presenting her special bundle. 

The presences of the two vode in the Force calmed greatly while Ahsoka explained how she left her second saber at the burial site. She told him how glad she was that she kept the crystal, because now that she could feel them again, the Force was singing. 

He encouraged her to rebuild a second saber, maybe even tweak her old one to better suit her fighting style. 

“Besides, it will give you the chance to properly reattune yourself with your kybers. There is much work to be done,” so she begged off to meditate in her room. 

Not long after the two clones were making excuses as well and leaving their common area in favour of their small quarters. Jesse mumbled something about checking their connections to the holonet, and Rex simply wanted to sleep. 

Obi-Wan found himself wishing he too had a project to work on. 

As the local resident hermit, he spent most of his time alone on what he had come to think of as his land. He mapped out all the canyons, charted all the caves, named and befriended all the creatures. He remodeled his little hut to his liking, worked to optimize the efficiency of his water vaporators, and was constantly performing maintenance on his home. 

But when he wasn’t making himself stay active and all the points on his little checklists were marked off, he was sitting quietly in meditation. He would often find himself reciting the poetry closest to his heart, the way he used to read to Cody. 

( _ “Say it for me again?” Cody’s eyes were doing the kicked tooka look, so Obi-Wan was pretty much obligated to indulge him. Not that he would even consider turning down a request from his commander.  _

_ “Alright, and remember, this poem was translated between several languages until it settled in the wording we know today. It’s a clunky read, but the history in it is-” _

_ “I remember.” _

_ “Okay,” Obi-Wan watched Cody close his eyes and sink further into his cushion.  _

_ “ _ If my soul be poisoned against thy creed, 

Go to thy father, from here be thou scarce.

Should you stay I would make you lament and bleed:

Please, precious blossom, adhere to this verse

For in our love you would no respite find.

Do you not wear your ideals as a cloak?

Do they not harbour you from howling wind?

Should I close mind (in doing so provoke

Righteous rage) protect thy interests but pray,

Sweet Force, grant visions that mine willful mind

Ever respectful of thy people stay

And we may some fruitful compromise find.

You are my equal, and I too am yours,

And we maintain this oath to final hours _.” _

_ Obi-Wan refrained from giving another lecture as Cody sat there with his eyes shut and a contemplative look on his face. _

_ “Well?” _

_ “It wasn’t any better the second time around,” his commander deadpanned, opening his eyes to meet Obi-Wan’s affronted glare. “I know you like this kind of stuff-” _

_ “Literature, I like literature.” _

_ “Fine, literature. I know you like this osik, but to me it’s just incomprehensible...osik.” _

_ “I don’t know why I even try,” Obi-Wan threw his hands up in the air.  _

_ Cody stuck out a foot to kick at Obi-Wan’s leg. He let it happen, and refused to think anything of it when Cody kept their legs pressed together. _

_ “Don’t be mad, Obi-Wan,” the Jedi purposely didn’t look at his face when he spoke, but it was a lost cause. When Cody used his name… _

_ “I’m simply trying to supplement your education with the arts,” Obi-Wan didn’t adjust his posture so they were sitting closer. He  _ didn’t. _ “Just, okay. Let me try again?” _

_ Cody gave him the smile he used with his vode when they told him they were fine after a hard battle. It was a smile that said ‘you can lie to yourself but you can’t lie to your ori’vod’ and ‘okay, I’ll humour you.’ It was infuriating to be on the receiving end of that smile.  _

_ “It’s about the struggle of two lovers, divided by their people. Both sides are heavily bound by codes of honour, but they differ drastically from one another,” Cody was nodding, which was a win. “The speaker is telling his love that he promises to always respect his ideals, and gives his consent for him to leave if he ever breaks that vow. The speaker knows what it’s like to live in a galaxy where your beliefs make you a target for angry outsiders, and he never wants to be the source of this pain for his partner. It’s not just a love poem, it’s an oath.” _

_ “You get all that from the poem?” Obi-Wan felt the commander’s interest focus on him partway through his explanation. _

_ “It’s all there, we just have to look for it,” Obi-Wan put on one of his best dazzling smiles.  _

_ “Or we can let our jetiise explain them to us,” it was an offhand comment, but Obi-Wan glowed from the inside out every time Cody called Obi-Wan his Jedi.  _

_ “Poems are like puzzles, I do think you’d enjoy them if you gave them a shot,” he caught Cody’s eye again when it started to wander.  _

_ “I-sure. Lek, I’ll give them a shot,” Cody settled back and closed his eyes again. After a few long moments of silence he cracked an eye. _

_ “Well? What other dikut’la poems do you have stored in that head of yours?” _

_ Obi-Wan laughed. “Well, there’s a rather lovely trilogy about a small group of adventurers that travel the galaxy in search of the oldest kyber crystal in existence.” _

_ “Sounds riveting,” Cody kicked his leg again. Obi-Wan debated his next move while he spoke about the historical context of the story.  _

_ Cody and the other vode told him multiple times he was always welcome to join in on their weekly vodpiles. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan couldn’t bring himself to sleep surrounded by so many vode, the comfort he felt sleeping surrounded by his men was nearly overshadowed by the niggling feeling in the back of his mind, whispering that he didn’t belong in such a sacred place. But giving and receiving comfort had become a semi-regular thing between him and his commander (it started soon after their Force bond clicked into place and Cody could sense how badly Obi-Wan needed a hug one day). Cody never pushed, always leaving the choice up to Obi-Wan, but the Jedi did have an open invitation to cuddle whenever he desired. As childish as it might sound to the observer, it was one of the ways Obi-Wan stayed sane when he was so far from the comforting embrace of the Order.  _

_ He was hesitant to take his commander up on that offer because his feelings were distinctly unprofessional. Obi-Wan worried about taking advantage, and he worried that Cody might pick up on his feelings if he allowed them to be too close for too long. That being said...Obi-Wan was slightly chilly and Cody was basically a human furnace. _

_ He stopped the debate as he finished the backstory to the epic and stood up from his spot, only to pivot and plop down beside Cody on his cushion. Cody didn’t even open his eyes to look at him, just hummed and adjusted his slouch so Obi-Wan was resting more comfortably against his chest. He kept a large, warm arm across Obi-Wan’s shoulders as he began the story of the adventurers. Obi-Wan let his own eyes drift shut as he spun tales in the air for his dear commander, happily surrounded by Cody’s warmth in and out of the Force. _ )

“You are my equal, and I too am yours, and we maintain this oath to final hours,” Obi-Wan kept his eyes closed when the poem was finished. The poem had a way of sounding more final in the past three years than it had in the time before. 

There were others he could recite, and if he was feeling brave he could try to recite one of his old training manuals, but he just sat in silence for a while in a pseudo-meditation. 

Naturally he found his mind drifting towards his bond with Cody. He let his mind putter around it, only barely looking in, until he caved under the pressure and let himself give a gentle tug. 

The old general smiled when he felt a foggy sense of fatigue over the connection. He tugged again when the sleepy question sharpened into a cautious interest. Obi-Wan held his breath. So far he hadn’t been able to get Cody to communicate back to him, and if he were honest he wasn’t entirely sure Cody could. If another mind was in the pilot seat Cody wouldn’t be able to change their course. But the communications console might not even be in the cockpit! Cody might still be able to answer him back!

Excitedly, Obi-Wan tugged more insistently on their bond. From such a distance and after so long of disuse, their bond filtered out much of the nuance they had felt towards the end of the war, when their bond was fully realized, forged in the fires of adversity. It truly was the will of the Force that Obi-Wan was able to find the name of Cody’s little moon with their bond in such a state. 

Against all the odds, Obi-Wan felt the lightest of nudges in his mind.

His eyes flew open of their own accord. Cody was communicating back! He was trying to reach him! Cody really was still in there; it meant that they had a shot. He leapt up and paced around the common room for a while to try and calm down. 

When he had finally settled his racing heart, Obi-Wan knelt on the floor and opened up his mind to the Force in a full meditation. 

He gingerly felt along the edges of his bond with Cody. It felt different, like some of the clouds had cleared from around it, or the dust had settled. The Force around it was giggling like a child, lapping around the edges in waves. 

He was about to try and communicate with Cody again when he realized that on the other side of the connection, Cody’s mind was back asleep. As much as Obi-Wan wanted to see how far he could push this, he didn’t want to make his dear commander miss out on sleep. Who knows, maybe he was still paying back the sleep debt he’d wracked up during all the campaigns. Force knew Obi-Wan was still working through the backlog of hours he let the Force sustain him for, past when he should have. 

Obi-Wan was certain it was a mild (but persistent) form of benign Force exhaustion. He would have loved to study the phenomena in his siblings from the order, but. That wasn’t exactly an option. He could try contacting Yoda, but the ancient master made his instructions kyber clear: no contact until Luke or Leia required training. Then and only then could Obi-Wan reach out to him. 

Yoda was even keeping himself locked up tight in the Force. Obi-Wan had no way of feeling him anymore. If he weren’t so confident in the masters ability to let mischief fuel him, he might have assumed the worst. Obi-Wan just hoped Yoda could sense Ahsoka was alive. One of his greatest sorrows from the war was the disaster that was Ahsoka’s departure from the order. Yoda would have been pleased to know she had found a path. 

ST-2224 was in the middle of his sleep cycle when the thing happened again. The lights were off in his room, and they wouldn’t turn on again until his alarm went off and activated the day routine in his quarters. 

When he blinked open, the first thing that struck him was his name. Cody. 

Shaking his head produced no more answers than the last time he’d woken up during the night cycle confused. It hadn’t been long since his last episode, so whatever was wrong with him was picking up the pace. Maybe a brain tumour? A concussion from-well, from where he didn’t know, but he supposed it was possible for a clone who was getting up in his years to hit his head on an outcropping piece of equipment and not notice. 

Cody was pondering the options when the thing happened again. Like before, it was a gentle tug on his mind, almost like a spirit was pulling him away. He tried to focus on where the feeling was localized, and he thought he could feel the hum of a hyperdrive flash around him. 

Cody held his breath and waited. For some reason, the shock of red hair invaded his mind again. For an equally baffling unknown reason, the memory made him smile into the darkness. 

He was sitting there grinning like a fool when the tug happened again. It felt more harsh this time, but Cody didn’t think harsh was the right word. Whoever was doing this to him wasn’t trying to hurt him. He knew instinctively that they were a friend. 

The second time the presence reached out to him, he felt another sense of that hyperdrive buzzing beneath him. There was so much information in that mind, ready to be plucked like ripe meilooruns, but Cody didn’t have enough time before the feeling was fading away. 

Cody frowned and tried to think it out. If he could pick up what the other person was sensing, could they sense what he was sensing? And if they could tug on his mind, could he tug on theirs too?

It was frustrating to say the least, Cody knew he understood how this worked, he just wished he could actually use that information. He decided to throw caution to the wind and try to mimic what the other side of the thing did. 

It must have worked, because he was suddenly picking up a large burst of joy and surprise along with the hyperdrive buzzing. 

Cody smiled to himself as sleep rose back up to him. He didn’t think that would take so much out of him. When he fell asleep, his mind was Cody, and he dreamed of a cushion on the floor and the most wonderful voice telling him stories about things that happened a long long time ago, half the galaxy away. 

ST-2224 woke up the next morning feeling as though something was different. His eyes were burning slightly and his head was throbbing. ST-2224 took himself down to the medbay before his shift to see a medic, but the droid wasn’t very helpful. The droid told him he had a poor quality of sleep the night before, but that was an inaccurate assessment. If ST-2224 were waking up during the night cycle he would remember it. He did however accept the prescription of an increased caf allocation for the day. 

Cody was in the back of his mind that morning, largely ignoring what his body was doing. He was too busy turning over his dreams like precious stones. If he tried really hard he could hear that voice in his head, explaining all sorts of adventures to him. The voice was reassuring, and Cody was so glad he was hearing it again. It had been too long since he heard-kriff. The name was right there! He could feel the shape it took in his mind, but once again, blocked. It was like ST-2224 changed the code to his archive room. It made him want to tear out his greying hair and send a training dummy flying with a well-aimed kick. 

Speaking of ST-2224...Cody zoned in just as they rounded the corner and were pulled into a side room for another of his ‘off the record’ consultations. This time Cody didn’t ignore what was going on. He listened to every word, every detail. And he remembered them. 

He committed ST-2224’s advice to memory too, just to be on the safe side, though it was hardly different from what Cody would suggest if they had asked him instead. In fact, it was almost like he was speaking, when he and the troopers' minds were so aligned on the answer. It sent a shiver down his spine when he thought about-Cody wrenched his mind back to the present. He had to stay focused while ST-2224 was walking, or Cody might miss another interaction. 

When Cody saw them safely to the monitors, he let himself sink back down. He knew the layouts already, and the guard rotations. There was no new intel to be gained from such routine procedures. As long as he-they?-were alone, Cody could allow himself to drift. 

So as ST-2224 stood at the monitors, Cody let himself consider the events of last night. He wondered if he could try and connect with the person again, but he quickly shook that off. If he tried something while ST-2224 was awake, he might take them to medical again. Or worse, reconditioning. Cody shuddered. He decided to wait until the next time he woke up at night, or at least until ST-2224 zoned out for a while (if that would ever happen). Then he would reach out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again Rahi didn't have much to do in this chapter, but I promise you, his time is coming

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, there will be plenty more to come! If you saw anything I should tag (or noticed any mistakes) please let me know and I'll fix it! Thanks for reading :)
> 
> you can find me on tumblr @corranblue , feel free to ask questions or just say hi!


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